June 2013 – Trade Beads

How Exotic Cornaline d’Aleppo (White Heart) Beads Got Their Name

Do you ever wonder how certain African trade beads come to get their names? The origins of most African trade beads can usually be determined by their name. For example, Dogon Beads are so called because of their popularity among the Dogon tribe of Bandiagara, Mali. But some, as I’ve recently come to find out, are a little more misleading.

Cornaline d’Aleppo (commonly known as “White Heart Beads“, or “Hudson Bay Beads” in America) were a popular type of wound and drawn trade bead produced between 1805 and the early 1900s in Venice, Italy. Unlike the more elaborate Millefiori Beads and Chevrons, Cornaline d’Aleppo are rather plainer in appearance, comprising just two layers of different colors. The core is usually white or off-yellow, while the outer layer (which wraps the core) is thicker, and ranges in color from burnt yellow to ruby red. A small quantity were also produced in varying shades of blue around the turn of the 20th Century, however, the most coveted were a seductive shade of dark ruby red. According to historical data, the brilliant red of Cornaline d’Aleppo Beads was the result of adding gold oxide to pink or violet glass.

So, how did they get their name? No-one can say with any great certainty why these Venetian Trade Beads came to have such an exotic name, although, it is thought that French-speaking tribespeople in Mali may have had something to do with it. The word “cornaline” is French for carnelian, a type of agate often used as currency among inter-trading tribes in Africa. “Aleppo” on the other hand, is the name of a small town in Syria. Some suggest the reference to Aleppo was inspired by the fact that it was once an important trading post between Africa and Asia. Nomadic African tribespeople would pass through the city to stock up on supplies, exchanging carnelian beads for essentials such as furs, tools and food. I prefer to believe the name derives from the magical striped stones of Aleppo, famous throughout Africa and Asia for their healing properties.

The Rise and Decline of Kakamba Prosser Beads

The journey of a bead collector is one filled with ponderings and questions. Where do my Trade Beads come from? Who made them? Even if these tiny details don’t mean much to you personally, they can have significant bearing upon your authority and commercial appeal as a jewelry artist.

Kakamba Prosser Beads are one of my most recent discoveries. I actually happened upon them whilst looking for some colorful spacers to use in my jewelry. Early Prosser Beads were named after English brothers Richard and Thomas Prosser, who devised the innovative molding technique for their production in 1840. The rights for this technique were later bought by Jean-Felix Bapterosses, a French button manufacturer who would later found one of the largest bead-producing factories in Europe. Sometime in the 1860s, Prosser Beads came to be known as “Kakamba Prosser Beads”; named after a small town in The Republic of the Congo where they were traded by merchants.

According to trade records, Africa was one of the chief markets for Prosser Beads. European traders would use them to build rapports with tribal chiefs, thus ensuring safe passage through unexplored or unknown regions. However, these merchants were shrewd types, and weren’t averse to conning tribespeople in order to get what they wanted. Beads were often strung upon weak cord, which would break easily. Natives were also told it was bad luck to pick them up, thus creating a need for new beads in exchange for small favors.

Prosser Beads continued to be produced in Europe long after the death of Jean-Felix Bapterosses in 1885, however, largely fell out of favor as more elaborate beads were introduced to Africa in the early 1900s. Their sad decline in popularity eventually relegated them to the history books by the mid 20^th Century – until locals in Kakamba began finding hoards of them in the ground while farming.

To think that the beads I hold today once traveled 3,000 miles from Europe to the Congo is amazing, but more fascinating still is the fact they may once have adorned the neck of a great tribal chief all those years ago. A slice of history being recycled once more for self adornment!

King Beads: The Mark of African Royalty

“King Beads”, so named because of their popularity among tribal leaders during the trade era, are a type of marvered glass bead made in Murano, Italy, during the 19^th Century. The earliest known examples of King Beads date back to the mid 1800s, examples of which can still be seen among the Moses Lewin Levin sample bead card collections held at the British Museum, London.

Characterised by their distinctive bicone shape and bold stripes, King Beads were typically larger than striped Chevrons, and were solely intended for use as a trade currency between merchants and African tribes. But, although Venetian King Beads run the gamut of color variations, the most common are green with yellow, red and black stripes. It is thought that such combinations were produced to enhance the appeal of the beads in Africa. Certain tribes, such as the Krobo of Ghana, are renowned for their use of colored beads as a medium of communication, and consider some combinations to be more desirable than others.

Legend has it that the size and specific colors of King Beads was inherent to their popularity among tribal chiefs in the 19^th Century. The Anlo Ewe of Benin and Togo regarded these larger beads as being superior to other types of trade beads, and quickly adopted them as wearable symbols of status. Yellow King Beads became central to the Dipo initiation ceremonies in Krobo culture, since the color is associated with coming of age and future prosperity. Interestingly, a number of archeological excavations in Ghana have revealed that some royals were even buried with their King Beads – possibly to aid their prosperity in the afterlife!