Brass, Gond Necklace Fragment with Mini Beads and 2 Sizes of Pendants, 20 inches long
SKU: ASM-1056
Sale price
$145.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 1 in stock
Description
- This is the longest section of the broken Gond necklace that also yielded ASM-160 and ASM-162. It contains not only 2-3mm mini beads but also 9 "shield" pendants (aka blade or half moon) as well as 55 mini pendants.
- The shield shape is still cast in India today, but the ones on this necklace were clearly forged, and they all vary slightly in size and shape.
- The Gonds from Odisha (formerly Orissa) are descendants of some of the earliest people of India, they prefer to be identified as Adivasi (original inhabitants) rather than "tribal"
- Gond beads started getting some international attention form collectors in the 1980s when I bought several pounds, at about the same price per ounce that silver was going for in India at the time. Today the prices of both silver and of of Gond brass are higher -- if you can even find the latter.
- I'm hanging on to most of what's left of mine. There something very appealing about these small irregular beads and mini pendants. And if you polish it, it can glow like gold. Their color, texture, and their shapes, worn smooth through decades of wear, give an aura of antiquity to whatever is designed with them.
- This month's offerings of Gond beads comes from the collection of a retired dealer of Indian artifacts
- Only one strand like this available