| Original Message: strange "necklace" |
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A friend of mine bought last month this necklace in Lomè, Togo. He was told that it comes from Nigeria, and was made of "beads found in the ground", as the dealer said. I showed it to three different enthomologists, and they confirmed my idea that the beads are pieces of termites galleries. These insects build in the ground these galleries with very hard walls against ants attacks. My opinion is that this kind of necklace was never worn, as beads don't exhibit sign of wearing,and normally the ends are rather abrupt, as they were broken more or less naturally. Possibly, somebody thought they could have sold as beads to western collectors, more or less aware of the true nature of the supposed beads. Though it is possible that these were really worn in other cases, being true "natural beads. Anibody has an opinion on this? Regards, Giorgio All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users |
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