August 2013 – Trade Beads

The Fascinating History of Cowrie Shell Beads as Legal Tender in Africa

The humble cowrie shell has many connotations and uses in African culture – not least as a form of legal tender up until the early 20^th century. Symbolic of both destiny and prosperity, the shell of Cypraeidae molluscs (large sea snails) was considered particularly valuable by tribes in West Africa, whom associate them with various ocean deities associated with wealth and strength. Such was the value of the cowry to Ghanaian tribespeople, they even named their currency (the “cedi”) after these marine molluscs!

Interestingly, cowrie shells are not native to Africa. They are predominantly found in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, most notably around the Maldives and Fiji. According to historians, it’s likely that strands of these small, polished ‘sea eggs’ were introduced to Africa by Chinese merchants sometime around the 9^th century, making them one of the earliest types of trade beads to be used as a medium of exchange anywhere in Africa.

The value of the cowrie shell is well documented to have been far greater in West Africa than elsewhere on the continent, and many attribute this to the West Africans’ love of beads for self-adornment. Merchant journals from the 19^th century suggest that gains for cowrie shells sometimes exceeded 300%! The lucrative trade in cowrie shells during the 1800s led to the development of a recognised currency system of sorts, with around 20-30 strings equating to one dollar. Inland too, the measure of one’s wealth was counted in cowrie shells; the then king of Bornu estimated to be worth more than 30,000,000!

Today, the cowrie shell continues to play a central role in the cultures and faiths of many African tribes. Some tribes, such as the Maasai, hang cowrie shells from the bride’s wedding necklace to encourage fertility and prosperity, while in rural parts of Ghana, whole strands of shells are gifted to the groom as part of the bride’s dowry. But value aside, cowrie shells are a beautiful natural element for tribal inspired jewelry, and in contrast to the 19^th century, aren’t all that expensive either!

A Royal African belt decorated with cowrie shells. Quinn Dombrowski/ Flickr

Shop Cowrie Shell Beads – 80 Shells per Strand

Bead-Making in Czechoslovakia – A Brief History

Second to China, modern day Czechoslovakia is one of the world’s largest producers of glass beads for the commercial market. But, it could have been a very different story had the Communists remained in power.

Glass bead production in Bohemia (now part of central Czechoslovakia) can be traced back to the times of Roman occupation around 400 A.D. From then until the 12^th Century, it was largely a cottage industry; glass-makers manufacturing beads to order for Catholic rosaries and door hangings. The 1500s saw the rapid expansion of glass factories within cities such as Stanovsko, Reichenburg and Jablonec, most of which were eager to cash in on the growing demand for glass beads by Spanish, English and Italian merchants.

The Industrial Revolution of the 19^th Century saw the invention of numerous machines that enabled bead-makers to produce pressed glass beads on a massive scale, and at far less expense. Such machines also allowed a greater variety of shapes and cuts to be achieved, earning Bohemia an enviable reputation for innovative designs – such as fluorescent Vaseline Beads, produced by mixing Uranium salts with glass.

Mass production of glass beads continued throughout the early 20^th Century in North Bohemia, and by 1928, the newly formed Czechoslovakia had superseded Venice as the largest exporter of glass beads in the world. Sadly, this success was short-lived. A combination of events – the Great Depression and World War II – severely impacted the bead-making industry. The Sudeten German bead-makers of North Bohemia were forced to move to Neu Gablonz, within Germany’s borders, meaning that many factories in Jablonec closed permanently.

The bead-making industry went into further decline from 1948 when the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party of Czechoslovakia came to power, forcing the closure of many more factories in Jablonec and Reichenburg. It was only in 1958, following the death of Stalin, that a group of artisans were able to muster enough backing to re-establish the industry. However, they were only able to do so by agreeing to the industry becoming nationalized by the Communist Party. They controlled all aspects of import and export to and from Czechoslovakia for the next forty years until they were ousted in 1989, after which, Czechoslovakia’s former cottage industries again began to flourish once more.

A 19th Century bead factory in Jablonec, Czechoslovakia. Huhulenik/ Wikimedia.org

Padre Beads – Relics of the Ch’ing Dynasty

Today, China has the monopoly on 21^st century bead production. But it wasn’t always so. Prior to 1912, the country had little in the way of a bead industry to speak of; its economy largely dominated by farming and agricultural industries. It wasn’t until the 17^th Century – the beginning of the Quing (or Ch’ing) Dynasty – that glass-makers began to realize the true economic potential of glass bead-making. Up until that point, only a handful of artisans were producing glass for anything other than commercial sale.

Competition among senior members of the royal court was rife in the 17^th Century. Both men and women strived to outrank one another in terms of style and extravagant displays of wealth, just so they would be accepted by those in the upper echelons of society. Like jewels and gold, heavy embroidered fabrics were considered trademarks of wealth and aristocracy. Those that couldn’t afford expensive diamonds commissioned glass-makers to produce small, wound glass beads known as “Peking beads” to embroider their gowns, starting a trend that would continue for the next 300 years.

As trade networks developed between Europe, America and Asia, the Chinese began to recognize the potential of glass beads for economic gain. They began trading glass beads with tribes across Asia in exchange for exotic fruits, spices, tea and animal pelts; eventually expanding their trade networks to include parts of North America. Realizing the value of glass beads to indigenous tribes, Spanish merchants began exporting beads from China for their own gain. Spanish padres too saw the potential of these small glass beads, and began using them to convert African tribes during Christian missions in Africa – hence the name “Padre Beads!”