Powder glass beads

Types of beadsobserved on these beads give evidence that they
Krobo beadswere made in horizontal molds. Meteyi beads are
Krobo bead (fused glass fragments)often ellipsoid in cross section and they have a
Krobo powder glass beads are made in verticalrough surface on the side which touched the
molds fashioned out of a special, locally dug clay.bottom of the mold during firing. They can be
Most molds have a number of depressions,opaque yellow, and more rarely, green, blue or
designed to hold one bead each, and each ofwhite, with stripe decorations in combinations of
these depressions, in turn, has a small centralblue, yellow, white or red. Manufacture ceased
depression to hold the stem of a cassava leaf.during the 1940s.
The mold is filled with finely ground glass that canAteyun beads
be built up in layers in order to form sequencesYoruba, Ateyun beads
and patterns of different shapes and colours. TheAnother West African people known to produce
technique could be described as being somewhatpowder glass beads are the Yoruba from Nigeria.
similar to creating a sand "painting" or to filling aBeads from their production differ technically from
bottle with different-coloured sands and is calledtypical Ghanaian powder glass beads in that they
the "vertical-mold dry powder glass technique".are not made in molds and in the wet-core
When cassava leaf stems are used, these willtechnique. Finely crushed glass is moistened with
burn away during firing and leave the beadwater and shaped by hand. The perforations are
perforation. Certain powder glass bead variants,made before the beads are fired, using a pointed
however, receive their perforations after firing, bytool. So-called Ateyun beads were made in
piercing the still hot and pliable glass with adifferent shapes but always in red, to imitate real
hand-made, pointed metal tool. Firing takes place inMediterranean coral. Genuine coral was rare, but
clay kilns until the glass fuses.very much sought after and highly valued by the
There are three distinct styles of modern KroboYoruba people. Yoruba bead makers made their
powder glass beads:own imitations at more affordable prices.
Krobo "Writing" beadsKeta awuazi beads
Fused glass fragment beads which are beingYoruba, Keta awuazi beads
made by fusing together fairly large bottle glassApart from red beads imitating coral, blue beads
or glass bead fragments. These beads arewere also highly valued. Keta awuazi beads,
translucent or semi-translucent and receive theiroriginating from Nigeria or possibly Togo, were
perforations, as well as their final shapes, aftermade in horizontal molds and mold marks are
firing.often evident along their sides. Keta awuazi beads
Beads composed of two halves (usually bicones,are cylindrical in shape. Manufacture ceased during
occasionally spheres) that are being created fromthe 1940s. Krobo bead makers produced similar
pulverized glass. The two halves are being joinedblue powder glass beads, using glass derived from
together in a second, short firing process.cold cream jars to achieve the blue colouration.
The "Mue ne Angma" or "Writing Beads",Kiffa beads
conventional powder glass beads made fromMauritanian Kiffa beads
finely ground glass, with glass slurry decorationsMain article: Kiffa beads
that are being "written" on and fused in a secondMauritanian Kiffa beads are also manufactured in
firing.the wet core technique. Glass which is finely
Akoso beadscrushed to a powder is mixed with a binder such
Akoso beadsas saliva or gum arabic diluted in water.
Older Ghanaian dry core powder glass beads,Decorations are made from the glass slurry i.e.
dating from the 1950s, are the Akoso beads,crushed glass mixed with a binder, and applied
which were also manufactured by the Krobo. Thewith a pointed tool, usually a steel needle. The
most common colour of Akoso beads is yellow.beads are formed by hand and not placed in
There are also green, and rarely blue or blackmolds. The firing takes place in small containers,
specimens. The glass surface is often worn awayoften sardine cans, in open fires.
at the ends and around the beads' equator,References
exposing a grey core. The most prevalent^ Barbot, J (1746). "A Voyage to New Calabar".
decorations, preformed from strips of hot glass,Collection of Voyages and Travels, Linot and
were applied in patterns of cross-crossed loops,Osborn (6 vols.): 455467. 
longitudinal stripes and circles. Glass from crushedBarbot, J (1746). "A Voyage to New Calabar".
Venetian beads was used for making the glassCollection of Voyages and Travels, Linot and
powder, and the decorative patterns were madeOsborn (6 vols.): 455467. 
of glass derived from Venetian beads, or fromExternal links
small whole Venetian beads such as so-calledKrobo beadmaker - Nomoda Ebenizer Djaba is a
green heart and white-heart beads.contemporary beadmaker from the Odumasi
Meteyi beadsKrobo area in Ghana.
Ashanti, Meteyi beadsAfrican Krobo Beads - Source for history on
Meteyi beads were made by the Ashanti peopleAfrican beadwork and Krobo beads.
of Ghana. Longitudinal seams that can often be