Brass,Lost Wax Cast Oval Braid Openwork Extra Large Beads, 28x24mm
SKU: JSD-11
Sale price
$5.00
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Only 16 in stock
Description
- Extra Large Oval Baoule Lost Wax Cast beads from Ivory Coast.
- Openwork beads with finely braided longitudinal rope design.
- Baoule work is made in similar ways to the Ghanaian lost wax cast beads, but tends to be much more delicate and precise. Brass color is more uniform too.
- Because the design is so open, these beads are also considerably lighter than many other cast brass beads
- Each of these beads is first made in wax - in this case thin strings of wax are braided. That in itself is a feat in the tropical heat! I've watched it being done.
- The wax is then covered by clay, the clay mold is heated and the wax runs out through openings left for that purpose.
- Molten recycled metal is poured in. After cooling, the clay mold is broken open and the beads are removed, cleaned, and polished.
- In this long, delicate, and laborious process it's inevitable that some beads are not perfect, but there only the most minor and barely noticeable imperfections in these beads -- truly remarkable workmanship.
- These beads are the big sisters of AFM-1, same design, but smaller and round
- From the collection of Joyce Diamanti who lived and traveled widely in Africa.