Turquoise Antique Oval Glass Beads, 6x4mm on 28-inch Strands
SKU: AFS-444
Sale price
$18.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 4 in stock
Description
- Small oval blue-green turquoise color antique wound glass beads about 6x4mm on 28-inch strands. The beads are slightly irregular in color and shape. The image looks more blue than most.
- These beads are often confused for real turquoise stone beads because the range of color from blue turquoise to green turquoise is remarkably similar to the stone
- The first time I saw these beads they were the strand on which a typical Islamic pendant was strung and I was told they came from Iran.
- Beginning in the 1990s thru early 2000s, however they started appearing more frequently in African trader's booths - especially in the Southwest where turquoise is perennially popular.
- So far I have no clear, documented info on who made them, exactly when, and where. Iran is obviously off limits to most at the moment (spring 2026), but I've encountered African traders in India, Indonesia and Thailand so they could easily have also collected these beads in Iran a few decades ago.
- Or like many traveling beads, these could have made their way to west African via the trans-Saharan camel caravans that brought Islam to north and northwest Africa.
- For shorter strands see AFS-445