Vintage Ostrich Eggshell from Botswana, smooth round uniform 6mm diameter beads on very long 63-inch (5'3") strand.
Only one available.
This one was bought from a member of the San (aka Bushman) group by my mother while she was in Botswana in around 1985 on assignment for National Geographic. The strand is divided into segments with small bamboo spaces and also contains a lot of residue typically found in a desert culture without much access to water. They are a collectors' item.
But if you are a designer, wanting to use them they should be washed in warm soapy water, or even in a fine mesh bag in the dishwasher
Ostrich eggshell beads are thicker than either clam shell or snail shell beads and also have larger holes, up to 1mm
Ostrich eggshell beads are among the earliest human adornments, having been made in East and Southern Africa, and traded among different groups, for over 50,000 years.
They are still being made today in much the same way in South Africa, Namibia, and Kenya, but only older women still wear them, most are now being made for export and not finished as well as the vintage ones.
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