African Amber, Two Discs Half Domed, Reddish Color, 26 and 18mm Diameter, Sold as Set of 2
African Amber, Two Discs Half Domed, Reddish Color, 26 and 18mm Diameter, Sold as Set of 2
African Amber, Two Discs Half Domed, Reddish Color, 26 and 18mm Diameter, Sold as Set of 2

African Amber, Two Discs Half Domed, Reddish Color, 26 and 18mm Diameter, Sold as Set of 2

SKU: JSD-909
Sale price $35.00

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Only 1 in stock

Description

  • These beads are priced and sold as a set of 2
  • Two discs, slightly domed on one side that have been cut from two red amber beads. These discs are extremely rare in any color and even more so in red. They are difficult to make and highly valued in Africa as hair ornaments
  • Larger 26mm diameter, Smaller 18mm diameter
  • Second image shows the back side of each disc. Scars show how touch this material was to cut.
  • The material these vintage and antique beads are made of is an early resin called phenolic thermosetting resin. It was developed in 1910. Bakelite is the best known brand name 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.
  • Women in Morocco, Mauritania and Mali, worn them as treasured necklaces and also in the hair. And this is how some came to be sliced, like this set. Not only do you get more beads from the procedure but they are easier and lighter to wear on your head.
  • 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.