10 Yellow Jacket Chevron Venetian Trade Beads Africa

Description

Title
10 Yellow Jacket Chevron Venetian Trade Beads Africa
Type of Object
Drawn and layered glass
Country of Origin
Rwanda, Burundi
People
Tutsi
Materials
Glass, metal
Approximate Age
Late 19th to mid 20th century
Height (in)
7.5
Width (in)
4
Depth (in)
22
Other Dimensions
Height: 7.5 Inches
Width: 4 Inches
Overall Condition
Good. Surface wear, scratches, some end chips. 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
General wear.
Additional information:
Venetian Chevron beads are the most beautiful, recognizable and collectable of all of the Venetian "Trade Beads".
Chevrons beads are made by a multi-part process. They start with the making of the cane, then another color glass is added and then this is usually put into a 12 point star mold. This process is repeated for each additional layer on the bead.
Chevron beads, also called "Rosetta"and "Star" beads have been made Venice since the late 1400's and are still in limited production today.
The earliest chevrons were typically 7 layers of color and this production ran from the late 1400's through to the 1500's. There are also 8,9, and 10 layer beads from this period. The next production phase was in the 1600s-1700s and the layer count went down to 3 and 5 layer beads and the majority of these were heat rounded via the "a speo" method. The Venetian Chevron production with the highest volume of beads was in the late 1800's and early 1900's. These beads were usually 4 and 6 layer beads.
Chevron beads have been traded throughout the world, but most heavily in Africa. The Dutch traders were the first to bring Chevron beads to Africa in the late 1400's. There are certain tiny 7 layer Chevrons from this same period which are only found in Peru and are attributed to being distributed by Christopher Columbus.
Chevron beads are still being made in Venice today but in a limited quantity. They are also being made now in India and China but with a slightly different process. There are also Chevron bead makers in the world today designing and creating some beautiful beads. The two most famous Chevron bead makers today are Art Seymour, of the United States, and Luigi Cattelan, of Italy.
We get many questions about counting the layers in Chevrons. In the bead collecting world, the layers in Chevrons are counted from the inner most layer (around the perforation) out to the outermost layer. Layers are typically counted by the different colors. This can be tricky with the older 7 layer beads because the innermost layer is usually a transparent green.
Chevrons are very popular beads, and there are many large private collections in Africa, Europe and America. These beads remain in very high regard in Africa and are still worn to show prestige, at special ceremonies and are often buried with the dea.
You can see some great examples of how these beads were worn by their owners in Africa in
Africa Adorned (Fisher) and The Bead is Constant (Wilson)
. You can see excellent examples of chevrons in
The History of Beads (Dubin), Collectable Beads (Liu), and A World of Necklaces(Leurquin)
. However, the most informative and illustrative work on the Chevron bead is by John and Ruth Picard -
Volume VII - Chevron and Nueva Cadiz Beads.
**132920**
All content, including pictures, Copyright Africa Direct Inc., 2021
Add Us To Your Favorite Sellers!
Please visit our About Us page.
Africa Direct, Inc. has been selling on eBay since 1997 and has received more than 56,000 positive feedbacks. It is owned by Eliza and Sara, who began the company after spending a year wandering southern Africa in a camper van with their multi-racial family. They have been honored with eBay's Hall of Fame award, and by eBay Giving Works, through which they have raised more than 5,000 in charity auctions.
Customer Service
: We treasure our many long term customers, and will try to make you one of them! If you have problems, please tell us... we care!
Handling Time
: We ship daily except Sundays and holidays. Most orders go out the same day, and all go out within 48 hours.
Returns
: We want you to be happy with your purchase. You're welcome to return an item within 30 days in the same condition you received it--just let us know you're returning it. You may have either a credit or a refund for your purchase price, not including shipping both ways. If your original payment was made through PayPal, we'll refund you through PayPal; if you paid us directly with your credit card, we'll refund the credit card.
Combining Shipping
: You are welcome to wait to pay, and to combine multiple items for shipping. We ask that you keep each order to 10 days or 10 items, whichever comes first--then start another order.
When you're ready, just send us a list of item numbers or an invoice request and we'll send you an invoice. You can pay by Paypal or credit card.
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.
Newsletter, previews and special offers
: Sign up for our newsletter
Go to Africa Direct Store