The R&T Extra! February 2007
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The R&T Extra! February 2007 |
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Subscribe/un-subscribe to our e-mail newsletter In this issue: |
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Beads and Black History: Inextricably Linked
By the 1500s, most (if not all) African cultures had not only long-standing histories of beadmaking, but also long-standing traditions of using beads as currency. African-made beads date back to at least 10,000 BCE, and glass beads were manufactured in Egypt as early as 2180 BCE. Egypt is actually the first-known culture to have created glass-making guilds. Outside of Egypt, however, there is little evidence of glassmaking on the African continent. Local production of glass beads relied on recycled glass made from imported, finished, glass products — an expensive "raw" material! Nevertheless, by the 9th Century CE, the prosperous city of Ife, in present-day Nigeria, had developed a large glass-bead industry using recycled glass. There is also evidence that recycled-glass beads were made in South Africa as early as 600 CE and in Mauritania by circa 1000. Yet with little to no local production of glass, glass beads remained highly valued currency — a fact European traders took great advantage of, making up to 1000% profits on their investments.
The degree to which glass beads took part in the Atlantic slave trade (1502-1853) is reflected by changes in the Venetian glass-making industry. By the mid-1300s, Venice and the neighboring island of Murano were already considered the glassmaking capital of the world. Its glassmakers were allowed to wear swords and marry their daughters to affluent families. On the downside they were punished with death for leaking industry secrets or taking their craft out of the region. In other words, glassmakers were highly valued elites in Venetian society. By 1490, only 24 glass factories operated in the region, reflecting the continuation of that status. By 1606, however, the region boasted over 250 glass factories — an expansion in part due to new cottage-industry lampwork methods, developed as a response to heightened market demand. (See our feather glass and other trailed glass beads for examples of lampwork trade-bead styles).
Because beads were currency for most of Africa's history, African cultures have made their own beads for millenia as well as trading intercontinentally for them. Today, these beadmaking traditions still continue in many places. Rings & Things primarily carries newer, African-made beads, whether indigenous styles like powder-glass, imported styles like mosaic/millefiori and chevron, or hybrid styles inspired by imports. At least one scholar has suggested that Kiffa beads, made by Mauritanian women for 1000 years, may have been originally inspired by mosaic beads imported from Egypt and Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq) — more on mosaic beads in a minute. Kiffas are recycled-glass beads, made by first grinding available glass objects into a fine powder. The beadmaker then creates a core bead-shape by using saliva to mold plain glass powder into a desired shape around a stick (the stick creates the bead hole). Intricate, colored designs are then added to the surface of the core shape, again using saliva to hold the powdered glass together. Finally, the beads are placed on a potsherd, covered and fired on a bed of charcoal. Because Kiffa beads achieve such intricate designs using very basic tools and materials, they have been hailed as an example of the highest level of beadmaking skill and ingenuity.
One of the most common bead styles imported into Africa was the mosaic bead, typically now called millefiori (Italian for "a thousand flowers"). The labor-intensive procedure of applying several intricate cane slices to a single base is said to have originated in Mesopotamia as early as the 15th Century BCE, where artisans used the method to make vases and drinking vessels. The first mosaic beads were purportedly made in Alexandria, Egypt, around the 1st century BCE, sparking a bead style that remains popular to this day. West Africans would have already been familiar with this style before European traders arrived, because they had already been trading for mosaic beads with Egyptian and Middle Eastern merchants. By the time the Venetians were creating mosaic beads for the African trade, the style had been around for centuries.
But back to Africa! Even though the technology to make Venetian-style layered-glass chevrons did not exist on most of the continent until recently, the style gained such popularity that beads of clay, bone and other materials were (and still are) sometimes painted or stained with chevron ("V"-shaped) designs. Rings and Things' current African bead selection includes one such example, a powder-glass faux chevron. In 1926, Black History Week was created with the hopes that it would expose the harms inherent in racial prejudice and encourage people to recognize significant contributions that people with African heritage have given society. Learning about trade beads reminds us of the strength, perseverance and artistic ingenuity held by people of African heritage — both those still living on the continent and those in the Diaspora. If reading about these unique and culturally important beads gets your creative (or collector) juices flowing, be sure to check out our African and trade bead offerings. In addition to a wide array of glass African/trade beads, we also carry metal and natural material African/trade beads. Plus, we sell a variety of finished African art. To find out more about African countries mentioned in this article, check out the Africa Guide map. To read about the beadwork of the Yoruba people (one of many cultures affected by the slave trade), see our November 2006 newsletter. For more about Black History Month, see Wikipedia. |
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Valentines Day: Ancient, Mysterious and Ripe for Jewelry-Making!
While no definite evidence tracks the holiday's evolution, there are clues that offer suggestions. No less than three early Christians named Valentine were said to have been martyred (killed) on February 14, and two of them were given the 14th as their "saint day." Nothing in these saint's stories, however, suggests a connection between their martyrdoms and romance. It's more likely that the Church attempted – but failed – to use the saints' day as a way to distract populations from ancient pagan associations. There is evidence of several pre-Christian February celebrations that related to fertility and/or marriage. Most prominently, the pagan Roman festival of Lupercalia took place in mid-February and included rituals meant to ensure fertility and cure sterility. So, Lupercalia was a holiday related to at least sex, if not romance. The celebration was banned by Pope Gelasius in 496 AD, the same year he decreed St. Valentine's Day as February 14. Evidence suggests, though, that the holiday never took on a religious tone, and with the rise of "courtly love" in the Middle Ages, earlier associations seem to have stuck. By the early 1400s, Valentine's Day was clearly dedicated to romance, and love notes survive from that period. The tradition of sending love notes, or "valentines," has remained (and helped keep Hallmark® Cards in business!). Esther Howland of Worchester, Massachusetts supposedly created the first U.S. mass-produced valentines, beginning the demise of the homemade love note. Those of us who are single can be comforted by the fact that in Finland Valentine's Day is a celebration of friendship, not romance, and that in Slovenia February 14 is an agrarian benchmark, having more to do with field work than romantic relations. We can also smile at a new name given to the holiday by some: "Singles Awareness Day." No matter if you're single or attached, the holiday is a great excuse to make and sell jewelry. Or, bring back the homemade love note by gluing beads and found objects to decorative papers! For either purpose, we offer a wide variety of valentine beads and charms. For last-minute jewelry design ideas, check out "All You Need is Love," "For Love or Money" and "Organza Furnace-Glass Bracelet" in our Design Gallery. To easily find a design by name, just click "search" at the top of the Gallery, type in the name and click enter. |
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Over the Gemstone Rainbow
We're also altering the format of the index. Our new edition will feature a beautiful four-page full-color chart, so you can easily search for your gemstones by color! Page-number notations will allow for easy reference from the chart to information entries and back. Watch for the new edition, coming soon from the printer. In the meantime, we also now offer an online gemstone color chart, which allows you to sort gemstone images by name or color. Have fun playing with our gemstone rainbow! |
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The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful: Our New Print Catalog
The good news is that this 377-page volume is accessible online now! Check out our online catalog pages anytime, now organized by product type, not just page number. We're convinced you'll love our new catalog features, including a new appendix and glossary, plus color-coded tabs for quick reference. Inside the sleek black cover, you'll find 65 pages of new stock, dozens of new pieces of finished example jewelry, new assortment discounts AND newly lowered prices on many of our Czech firepolish beads! Any way you stack it, our new catalog is a thing of beauty. Watch for it in your mailbox. In the meantime, check it out online. |
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Rings & Things Employee Spotlight: Gabe Kelly Road show assistant Gabe Kelly is a funny – but dangerous – guy. Fellow employees have almost choked from laughter more than once due to his antics.
R&T: What is your position/role in the company?
R&T: Describe your job.
R&T: What's your favorite part about working for R&T?
R&T: What are you studying?
R&T: What are your hobbies?
R&T: What's the last movie you saw?
R&T: What's a favorite saying of yours?
R&T: What do you want most out of life?
R&T: What's your favorite R&T stock item?
R&T: If you were a bead, what would you be?
R&T: How do beads make you feel?
R&T: Do you have any anecdotes you'd like to share with our customers? |
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R&T's String of Events: February 2007 Calendar
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Thanks! Russ, Kim and the whole Rings & Things crewP.O. Box 450 Spokane, WA 99210-0450 USA Phone (509) 252-2900 Fax 509 838 2602 Order toll free 1 (800) 366-2156 Web site: http://www.rings-things.com You can subscribe/unsubscribe (it's free) to our newsletter in seconds! If you've moved, please help us get our next catalog supplement to you. Just fill out this form: www.rings-things.com/addressform.htm. Newsletter Home |
In 1900, American Mary Church Terrell began honoring the abolitionist 
From the 16th to 19th centuries, literally tons of glass beads were used as currency by international traders, to buy gold, ivory, palm oil — and people. These "slave beads," as they came to be known, were manufactured primarily in Venice, Bohemia (in the present-day Czech Republic) and Holland. Once made, the beads took a long ocean journey, often functioning as ballast in ships heading to West Africa where people then replaced the beads in cargo holds before the ships headed for America.
This aspect of African trade-bead history is sordid, to say the least. And yet, one cannot ignore the beauty of these objects, as highly valued now as they were then. It is perhaps ironic that, today, Westerners pay large sums of money for these now-rare antique collectors items. Purists use the term "trade bead" to refer solely to these antique "slave beads" that were traded as currency. But, the term is commonly (incorrectly) used to also mean African-made beads, old or new.
Kiffa beads are just one result of a beadmaking method called "wet-core powder glass." Another popular African method is the "dry powder-glass" method, in which beads are made without first building up a core. There is archeological evidence that the Asante people were using this technique by the late 1600s, and today the tradition continues in Ghana. Scrap glass is finely ground, placed in a mold and fired. During the firing, the glass fragments melt and bond. These popular, inexpensive 
A bead style that truly originated in Venice and became widely popular in Africa is 
R&T: When did you first start working at Rings & Things?
Between road shows, classes, purchasing trips and more, there's a lot going on at Rings & Things! Here's what's happening this month: