Cobalt Blue Old European Trade Beads Africa 34 Inch

Description

Title
Cobalt Blue Old European Trade Beads Africa 34 Inch
Other Names
Triangles
Type of Object
Wound Glass
People
Tibetan
Made In
Europe
Traded In
Africa
Approximate Age
Late 19th to mid 20th century
Overall Condition
Fair. Some of our beads have traveled at least three continents, and have graced numerous owners. Small chips, corrosion, and pitting are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.
Damage/Repair
Large chips and cracks
Bead Size
15-27 mm diameter. See picture with penny for size comparison.
Strand Length
34 inches (includes string/raffia).
This strand is not intended to be a ready-to-wear necklace. Although the strand can be worn "as is," the
raffia
holding it together is not durable and may break with use. For this reason, we recommend that you restring the beads before wearing them.
Additional information:
Most glass beads produced in Europe from the late 1800s to mid 1900s fall into one of three categories: wound, drawn and molded. Wound beads were manufactured by winding molten glass around a metal rod until it took on the form of the finished bead. Once the glass cooled and hardened, there was no need to perforate it—removing the metal rod left a hole through which the bead could be threaded. Using the wound glass method, beads could be manufactured in small workshops without the need for massive and expensive equipment. But each bead had to be created individually, making cheap, large-scale production impossible. Because of this, another technique was developed and perfected in the famous bead-making workshops of Venice and elsewhere in Europe.  In the drawn glass method, molten glass was affixed to metal plates and then drawn out by two workers walking in opposite directions. The malleable glass would stretch until it became a long thin cane which could then be cut into small sections and formed into beads.
The information above is drawn primarily from Lois Sherr Dubin's,
The History of Beads
.
**133993**
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Handling Time
: We ship daily except Sundays and holidays. Most orders go out the same day, and all go out within 48 hours.
Returns
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Combining Shipping
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U.S. Shipping
: Our staff take great care in packing our artwork, much of which is antique, irregularly-shaped, and fragile. The cost of labor and the special packing materials used is reflected in our shipping price. Our U.S. shipping charges also include insurance; we self-insure on smaller orders. For these reasons, our shipping and handling charges may be more than the price of postage. .
International Shipping
: We ship dozens of international orders each week, to customers on every continent except Antarctica! The shipping charges included in our listings are for U.S. orders. Contact us for shipping charges to your country. We offer uninsured USPS First Class airmail, insured Priority airmail, and insured Express airmail to most parts of the world, depending on the weight, volume, and value of an item. We also ship via FedEx or DHL on request.
Import duties, taxes, and charges are NOT INCLUDED in the item price or shipping charges. These charges are the buyer's responsibility. Please check with your country's customs office to determine what these additional costs will be prior to bidding / buying. These charges are normally collected by the delivering freight (shipping) company or when you pick the item up -- do not confuse them for additional shipping charges. And please do not ask us to mark merchandise values below the actual value or mark items as "gifts"--U.S. and International government regulations prohibit such behavior.
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