Vintage Ghanaian beads

Description

24 inches (62 cm.), mixed strand of old Ghanaian glass beads with some old Czech beads. Hole 2-3 mm. Beads size: 6 to 10 x 4 to 10 mm.

Recycled glass beads are made by crushing old glass (from old bottles, windows, etc) into powder, which s then heated and poured into clay molds. A leaf stem (cassava) is used to make a hole. As the beads are oven backed, glass fuses and the stem burn away.
The bead making technique has been used in Africa for centuries. It results in a beautiful, rough, primitive appearance with a texture similar to sea glass.