Featured Is this necklace made from blue chevron trade beads?

Hi everyone,

I picked up this necklace a few weeks ago and I have been wondering about the beads on it, as they are all so different from each other and not like other beaded necklaces I have owned. As you will see the beads are a mixture of sizes and all the red and blue ones seem to be of irregular shape and uneven texture, with quite a few having ridged or pitted surfaces, or even darker blue blobs on the outside!

I have been trying to do some research and I did wonder, from what I have seen, if they may possibly be chevron trade beads? If they are (or even if they are not!) are these modern or (hopefully) something a bit older?

Any information you can give would be great and I hope my photos show the weird blue blobs and textured surfaces ok for you all. TYIA

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_bead

They're not old chevrons, as far as I know...but that is a very nice string o' beads!

 

Heavy or light? Feemo mix?

 

What's that mean, Gus?

 

Fimo is a sculpting clay.

 

Thank you, bosko...I hadn't heard of that before today.

 

LOVIN' the COLOR!!!!!

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My pleasure Whit-'Say goodbye Play-Doh,say hello Fimo'.

 

Kinda looks like imitation of African trade beads

 

They're not chevron beads, but they are in the style of trade beads.
Could have been made in India, which has a long tradition of glass bead making.

 

It is definitely an interesting assemblage of beads. If they are in fact made of glass (rather than modern polymer clay) they show quite a bit of wear and tear which may be indicative of some age.

With all due respect to AJ, I believe at least some of the beads would be classified as chevrons. Chevrons are defined by the way they are made, a complex process of several layers of different colors of glass shaped in corrugated "star" molds. If you look at the ends of the beads you may be able to see the shaped layers. The most familiar chevron beads are made with 4, 6, or more layers of blue, red and white glass and are finished by grinding the ends to expose the layers -


https://www.beadstore.com/collections/african-trade-beads

In this example from your strand, you can see the layers and the corrugated star shape on the end -


Chevrons can be made with different color combinations, and more or less shaping at the ends. What is unusual about yours is the relative lack of white glass, with the predominate colors being only blue and red/brown. The closest comparisons I have been able to find are some trade beads coming out of West Africa referred to as awale/awalleh beads -

https://kazaart.com/product/antique-venetian-trade-beads-awale-chevron-strand-late-1800s/

 

Hi everyone,

Thank you so much for all the responses so far, much appreciated to get all your thoughts on these.

I have to say though I do not think they are made of Fimo as there is a weight to them and from what I remember of Fimo it would be lighter than this (played with it as a kid but it has been a while so I could be wrong!) I have also noticed a sheen to some beads and what look like bubble holes, again consistent with glass.

I don't have my light box set up at the moment but I have taken some new close ups of some of the ends of the beads as best I can, so please excuse the fingers too! I also discovered they are dirty at the ends, although I tried to pick some cleaner ones for the photos, but apologies for any grime shown! I also took a photo of the weird blue blobs on some of the lighter blue plain beads....tried my finger against them and it seems to be coming off, and it is making me think it might be wax, though no idea why this would be on them?!

@2manybooks let me know what you think of these close ups? There is definitely no white in them as you point out but you can definitely see some layering in them of the colours you mention. Any other thoughts welcome from others too.

 

Yes, those look like they were made with the chevron technique. Chevrons have been made for several hundred years and, like many glass beads, may be difficult to assign specific dates or origins.

You might try sending your photos to some of the companies that specialize in trade beads, such as the ones in the links for the photos I posted. They might be able to say if they have seen the type before, and give you some idea of the age.

 

Thanks @2manybooks for coming back and looking at the new photos. Good idea about contacting a specialist company to see if they know more, as they definitely seem unusual beads with the colour combo on them, at least compared to what I have seen so far on Google anyway!

 

I think we have to disagree on this one.
The technique you describe is the "rosetta" technique, which can result in chevron beads, depending on the look.
Chevron beads are called after the double (opposing) chevron shapes all around the outside, hence the name. Chevron shapes are angular shapes, and in the case of chevron beads they are opposing, like diamond shapes.

I used to sell chevron beads to African buyers, and both they and European collectors are quite picky about the definition, and most say: No chevrons, not a chevron bead. To them it is about the esthetics of the bead, not the rosetta technique as such.
I agree that there is one (maybe two) bead that comes close to having chevrons all around the outside, and could be called a chevron bead. The others are not. I don't think my African buyers would have accepted them though.
So their opinion and that of collectors here would be that these are rosetta beads, and I follow that.

 

I stand corrected. A distinction I was not aware of (and not one commonly made in descriptions by companies selling trade beads) -

" Only rosetta/star beads with ground ends (either faceted, rounded, or chamfered), and with their inner layers exposed, are "chevron" beads. All star beads with flat ends are more aptly termed rosetta/star beads."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevron_bead#:~:text=Only rosetta/star beads with,aptly termed rosetta/star beads.

On the other hand, the flat ended rosetta "awale" beads are described as being popular in West Africa.

 

Thank you @Any Jewelry for sharing your information, I am definitely learning a lot through this discussion and great to know they are called rosetta beads.

It seems then it is likely a rosetta 'awale' bead necklace, with possibly some age to it. I think mine though seems to be more unique in its colour combo from what has been discussed, and I need a nice white top now to wear it against to really make the blue pop even further!

 

That blue is beautiful.

 

I have some actual chevron trade beads around somewhere, exact age unknown. They've been waiting for the right project. The OPs don't seem to be really old but are readily wearable. If I had them, I'd wear them.

 

Yeah, me too. Just looked where I saw them las; no joy! When I do run across 'em, I'll post in the Jewelry forum with enough pics to be helpful. I would like to know more about them, an' based on comments above, I'm sure I will!