Featured Bakelite, brass and Glass necklace

Good evening
Another necklace from thd same shop as my Bakelite beads. I think this must be African. It has Bakelite, brass beads, a bell and Venetian trade beads.
Would this be how they would have been warn in Africa or did someone put it together from different parts?
Groete
Jannie

 

If I had to guess, I'd say assembled in Tunesia, but it could be from almost anywhere in North Africa. The glass ones do look like trade beads. The brass looks North African, and the honker is probably "faturan", aka scrub bucket amber. Someone else will likely know more.

 

The cast brass bell bead is from Ghana, and it is likely that the entire necklace was assembled in Ghana, from locally made and trade beads. The shape of the brass 'saucer' beads was probably inspired by Tuareg beads but they are made in Ghana.

Yes, it would.

I have no idea why you would say that, there is nothing Tunisian about this necklace at all.

Tunisia has a lot of silver and gold work, often with filigree. It is a Mediterranean country with many Italian, Maltese and Jewish jewellery makers.
Jannie's necklace is classic sub-Sahara West African, not Mediterranean.

Faturan and the 'Berber amber' or 'Sahara amber' made from plastic buckets are two very different materials, from two different parts of the world.
This bead bears no resemblance to either imo.

Btw, years ago I posted the story of Moroccan ladies melting plastic buckets to make faux amber as a fun fact, and to show that not all Moroccan yellow amber is in fact amber. Not as a way to "identify" a West African necklace as Tunisian.

 

Some of my Tunisian pieces, to show the classic styles:

A silver prayer box necklace, Berber style:


Silver calligraphy bracelet:


My favourite sheeshkhan style hamsa pendant, gold with diamonds, sapphires and Basra pearls:


Sure, they also make some non-precious jewellery, like this skhab necklace. Skhab is a sweet-scented hardened paste which contains cloves. The bakelite/phenolic acid beads are imported. Apologies for the background colour, seller's pics:


I hope this helps to show that West African brass and trade bead jewellery and Tunisian jewellery are worlds apart.