The style is similar to beads made in Bali of silver. Here is a picture of a Bali silver bead in my collection. Bali beads are noted for the granulated (made of small dots) decorations.
Hi, yes that was my initial reaction too, but there is something about the shape that made me think they might be more moroccan. The place that i found them does have a high population of north african inhabitants.????
However, let's recall—classic metal (silver and gold) beadmaking can easily be taken back to India; then spread around, taken up in Central Asia and in Arabia; Arabians moved it elsewhere—such as to North Africa. Also to Spain, and subsequently North America—where Diné (Navajo) and other Indian tribal people developed their own idioms. Also, from India to SE Asia (and Island SE Asia—and hence Balinesian beads. The methods of manufacture are reasonably the same; except that added decorations may tend to exploit one type over another, may utilize shortcuts, and may freely combine techniques and elements for the delight of the people who make these design trends popular.
This is, of course, an oversimplification. The point is that your basic silver bead looks a lot like many other basic silver beads. Though there are also regional styles, that develop over time and evolutional expression.
Finally, my last big purchase of "ethnic silver" beads consisted of products that were made in India; but clearly were cheaper knock-offs of Bali and Sri Lankan products.
The beads in question do not look Balinesian to me.
JDA.
