A stunning double strand African tribal necklace made with hand made Kiffa beads, some in the style of millefiore glass beads in different colors and shapes. Incredibly bold statement with each hand made stained glass bead separated by round blue glass beads. It is strung on cord which signals to me that it may have been restrung at some point. There are two substance strings of beads that attach by a gold metal hook Great Necklaces

CONDITION: Excellent vintage condition with no broken or missing glass.

SIZE: The necklace can be sized up and down because of the links. The beaded part, starting with the longest is 17 inches long by 2 and 34 inches, and the shorter strand is strung part way down the longer one and is 10 inches x 2 and 20 inches. Total of approximately 54 inches of wonderful beads.

Culture:

The moors are a culture of herders and traders. They move in accordance with their animals needs, making their route according to the availability of pasture and water. In the cool dry period between October and December they tend to inhabit the Akwer region in the north as there are often excellent grazing pastures to be found there. However, there are few wells in this region and they are often more than a day’s ride away. Towards the end of this season they begin to move through the region they call Baten which consists of sandy dunes and is the most fertile area of Mauritania.

Perhaps the most fascinating art of the Moorish nomads is the making of kiffa beads. The classical wet powder glass bead is made by the Nomadic women in the Western Sahara country of Mauritania. The beads are meticulously made using the most primitive tools. Different colours of glass are ground to a fine powder and kept separate from one another. Principally the colours used are white, yellow, red, blue and black.