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• Handmade Round
and Pie-Shaped or Triangular Shaped Kiffa Beads (Circa 1990);
Origin: Kiffa, Mauritania; Collected: Africa – 79 Beads
• Handcrafted Sterling Silver Barrel Beads and Toggle Clasp
from Bali
• Sterling Silver Findings
• Finished with Silver French Bullion
• Length: 25.5”
N0904-113: $495.00
(free S&H)
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KIFFA BEADS
(Contemporary): The traditional art of making old Kiffa
beads is extinct and were originally made in Kiffa,
Mauritania, Africa. Kiffa beads (particulary the triangle
shapes) were used as hair adornments by the Kiffa women.
Kiffa beads represent one of the highest levels of
artistic skill and ingenuity in bead making, being
handcrafted with the simplest materials and tools
available. No one is really certain of the age of this
period of Kiffa bead making. According to Peter Francis,
Jr., (internationally known bead expert), the making of
powder glass beads in West Africa may date back a few
hundred years, and to possibly 1200 CE in Mauritania.
Although the making of Mauritanian powder glass beads
appears to be an ancient tradition, no archaeological
evidence to establish their age has been found to date.
Most of the experts in this field date Kiffa beads from
the early 1900s through the 1940s. These beads were
individually made by hand. There is a central core made
out of various materials. This core is sometimes made from
dark gray powdered glass and sometimes non-glass
materials. Using a needle and spit, tiny portions of blue,
red, yellow or white powdered glass was laboriously
applied to the bead core. This was done over and over
again until the beads were totally covered with this outer
layer of powdered glass. They resulted in monochrome with
dots or stripes. The semi-finished beads were then
“cooked” over outdoor open fires until the powdered glass
fused without molds. Old Kiffa beads are very, very rare
and are extremely difficult to find, especially in good
condition. Many of them have been repaired and repainted.
Since the early
1990s, organized groups of women bead makers in Mauritania are again
making Kiffa beads by trying to use traditional methods and even so,
there is a limited number of contemporary beads available. Finding
high quality contemporary Kiffa beads is uncommon. However, these
contemporary Kiffa beads are a beautiful testament to the
traditional specimen. Circa 1990s; Origin: Kiffa, Mauritania;
Collected: West Africa.
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