Need ID Help Please! Ancient? Blue & White Mali Dug Beads
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Posted by: AnneLFG Post Reply
11/15/2019, 21:13:45

Need some ID Help please with these two similar glass "dug" beads from Mali, Africa, acquired many decades ago in the African Bead Trade. They are Blue & White "swirling" I suppose "furnace glass" and I believe wound & "folded" as well, and both have distinct very worn white stripes at the core, and a few other locations. The core white stripes are not continuous all the way around the inner hole, and some become distorted, pulled at an angle. The swirling blue and white glass can also be seen at intervals inside the bead hole interrupting the white "stripes".

My best guess is that the white glass "stripes" or white glass pieces were laid down in a striped pattern and pressed into the blue glass softened by heat, then rolled central to the bead. The bead then rolled, folded, and formed resulting in the swirling glass patterns. Please forgive my lack of accurate descriptive terms.

Both are measuring ~16mm wide, and about 7-8mm at thickest. Hole size is ~4-4.5mm and ~5mm for bead with old chipped side.

I am about to list this on my eBay and want to be as accurate as possible.

Any information on Origin, Age, and How these were likely made and anything else that is readily apparent to someone more experienced in this area than I am, would be much appreciated.

Will post a few single Pics & also Album. Please see IMGUR Album at bottom- be sure to scroll down to see all photos. Sorry the photos are not the best and had to make many attempts.

https://imgur.com/a/27rG3xL

Thanks so much I do appreciate your Help and Bead Knowledge, Anne

Bead lover, collector since Age 15, semi-retired had wholesale/retail bead, folk art, tribal art store Lost and Found Gallery for 25 yrs. in DT Greensboro, NC

Modified by AnneLFG at Fri, Nov 15, 2019, 22:19:36

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