African Amber, Small Oblates, Medium Amber Color with Extra Holes, Set of 2
SKU: JSD-899
Sale price
$24.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 1 in stock
Description
- These beads are priced and sold as a set of 2
- Medium amber color, each bead has an extra hole perpendicular to the original
- Oblate (slightly squashed sphere) is the most popular shape in West Africa, in East Africa the barrel shape is preferred.
- The material these vintage/antique beads are made of is an early synthetic called phenolic thermosetting resin. It was developed in 1910. Bakelite is the best known brand among several European manufacturers producing faux amber beads, jewelry and household products before World War II.
- Phenolic resin amber beads probably started coming to Africa as a substitute for real Baltic amber in the 1920s and 1930s and trade lasted into the 1950s according to recent research by Rosanna Falabella.
- Several generations of newer resin beads have followed, some better than others, at a variety of prices, but none can approach the beauty and durability of the original phenolic resins which are now almost 100 years old, and wear it well.
- All the African Amber beads being posted in June 2025 are from the collection of Joyce Diamanti, world traveler, bead collector, researcher, writer, editor and educator. Mine remain in strands for the time being. See AFO-106, 119, 120, 122, and AFO-124. The Berber strands AFO-157-AFO-170 are a newer type of resin.