Featured African Glass Beads....& some metal....

I bought these cuz I liked them...& at a time was collecting beads......
They came to me as Rare Old Blue African Dogon beads......& the metal seemed to point in that direction.......but they're strung on shoelace type on material....which seemed odd from the outset.

Any opinions are welcomed.....origin , age, whatever ya got will be welcomed news...!!

 

Beautiful, komo.
Both are made with Dutch blue trade beads. If I remember correctly, Dutch blue trade beads were made in Amsterdam.

The top necklace are 'Dutch donuts', my absolute favourites when it comes to trade beads. They were made from the 17th-19th centuries.

The bottom necklace are called Dogon beads, as you said, but are also Dutch made. Most Dogon beads date from the 18th-19th century.

The decorated brass bead is probably Akan (Ashanti, etc). It looks antique.

 

Found some nice info on the Dogon beads:
https://beadsofparadisenyc.com/collections/rare-ancient-beads/products/dutch-cobalt-hand-wound-beads

Something on Dutch donut beads, not much real info:
https://www.africadirect.com/beads/...ound-annular-cobalt-blue-african-36-inch.html

 

With AJ's imprimatur on the beads, don't think you need to worry too much about the 'shoelaces'. From here they look like they could be leather? Whatever the material used to string them, think the beads have been in the hands of a collector, who has kept sets of bead together in this very secure, but reversible, way. Doubt they were ever around an African neck just as they are now.

 

those are lovely komokwa

 

Even if they have been looking for love in all the wrong places - in a drawer, for pity's sake.

 

huh...I don't keep these in a drawer...

 

OK, in a box then.

 

not even.....they're out where I can get em....