lundi 30 mars 2009

Speaking of Beads...

.
I simply ADORE...
the beads, the stunning models, the fabrics,
and the general sunny, happy feeling that these photos
generate...
.
.
Africans have used beads for ritual and decorative purposes
for hundreds of years.
In ancient African graves, beads and beaded necklaces were found
buried with kings and chiefs.
The Ashanti people of of Ghana reasoned that powdered glass beads
were worth their weight in gold and that certain beads
held supernatural protective powers.
. .
The Yoruba people of Nigeria believed that buried beads
would grow in the ground and multiply.
The most popular trading items brought over by the Europeans
in the 16th century were beads
and thousands of pounds of beads were exchanged.
.
.
Until the 20th century, no other continent imported as many beads
or yielded as many different types of its own.
The abundance of the shear variety of shapes, colors
and materials used is overwhelming.
None though is as popular as the glass bead.
The traditional glass bead practice thrives in West Africa.
melt powdered glass in small bead moulds to form their beads.
The beads have a semi-translucent quality
that highlights the painted motifs.
Nowadays beads are used as fashion accessories
by both men and women...
.
Read and see more here
photos: Bob pixel photography

10 commentaires:

Gutsy Living a dit…

Although you visited me, I wanted to find out more about you. I speak French, but don't write it any longer without grammatical errors. As you can tell from my profile I lived in Nigeria, and love the bright colored beads you show in the photos.

Callie Grayson a dit…

fabulous post!!!
I will be doing a post in the next few weeks on my friend Kandace, she makes beautiful glass beads. I owe a few of her necklaces. it will be my first give away:)
Loved the history you wrote about the beads.

minusule expo a dit…

merci 1000 fois Judi pour tout ce que tu fais pour ma promo, tu es géniale ! je ne pourrai pas être au RV avec vous le 02 avril ( too bad !!!) mais j'espère vraiment te revoir bientôt
bizoo

The Daily Connoisseur a dit…

absolutely beautiful!

Jean-Louis Beylard-Ozeroff a dit…

On ne sait ce qu'il faut admirer davantage : de l'art de la parure ou de la beauté de ces femmes !
Your posts are both a pleasure for the eye ("A thing of beauty is a joy for ever" ...) and a delight for the mind.
Are we neighbors, by the way (Geneva) ?

l'air du temps a dit…

very nice. i have admired the beauty of these gorgeous beads and at the same time i have wondered if there is a deeper meaning to their incredible beauty...

ciaa a dit…

I love this post. i wanted to let you know that your blog is very interesting too !!!!!!!! you can blog about mine as much as you like.

Béatrix a dit…

C'est vraiment un très bel article, j'adore!C'est à la fois joli à regarder et très instructif...bon week-end India.

P a dit…

Beautiful patterns, beads and women! Your blog is so lovely - thanks for your sweet comment on mine.

Dutchbaby a dit…

I landed here because I clicked on your "art" label. I love this post; learning about the art of beads and their cultural meanings is very interesting.