Ancient Excavated Small Djenne Gray Blue Mixed Color Nila Glass Beads, Strand, Mali - Rita Okrent Collection (AT0146b)

Bead sizes in 2-4mm range.  Approximately 22" of beads per strand.

Select this listing if you need a mix of grays, blues and other colors that will come on these strands. Your strand will be mainly gray, and might have some blue and a few beads of other colors.

These beads arrived in Mali via ancient trade routes to Djenne and are 600-1000 years old. They may have come from Asia and the Mediterranean as early as 300 BC and were re-discovered when excavations began on the old Djenno site in the early 1970's. Although Mali artifacts are strictly prohibited from leaving the country, the beads don't fall under this restriction due to their origins.

The beads in the photos are representative of those available.
 No two strands are exactly alike.
More of the true colors of these wonderful beads come out when treated gently with a tiny bit of olive oil (rub a little on your hands and then handle the beads). Natural skin oils also bring out the richness of their color and age. You will see more depth of gray and some blues (some of the gray color may be dirt on any given strand).

More info:
Nila beads are the small monochrome Islamic glass beads than can be found in colors ranging from blue, green, red, black, white to yellow that are widespread in West Africa. They often have oxidization patina from burial and age. Large quantities have been found along the river banks of the Niger river in Mali and buried in large quantities in clay pots, used as a form of currency. They are also found in the ground in parts of West Africa and Southeast Asia. The name "Nila" comes from the Sanskrit term for indigo.

In order to export these, our supplier is required to have signed, written permission from the Museum of Mali in Bamako. Because they were not originally made in Mali, they are not considered Mali "artifacts".

Djenne, Mali (Africa) - or rather the ancient town of Djenno (250 BC - 900 AD approx.) is 3+ km.s from "modern" Djenne and is considered to be one of the best bead archaeological sites in the world.
Djenne and Timbuktu (500 km to the north) were connected by a very active Trans-Saharan trade route between the 15th - 17th centuries and a variety of trade items passed through these two cities.

As bead researcher and expert, Robert K. Liu writes in Ornament Magazine: “The term Islamic Period Glass Beads is used, similarly to Roman Period Beads, to classify groups of ornaments from specific geographic areas and time periods, with recognizable characteristics including patterns and techniques. In the case of Islamic glass beads we know they originated in the Middle East and flourished mostly between the seventh and twelfth centuries. Their designs display a wide mix of techniques and styles: millefiori/mosaic (including pierced mosaic pad beads), trailed, filigreed, combed, fused rods, segmented/blown, folded (an Islamic innovation, Holland and Holland 2006) and those derived from amulet shapes, like charm case beads with loops.”Islamic glass beads traveled from their sources of production in the Middle and Near East together with the expansion of Islam to North Africa, Southern Europe (Spain), India and the Far East and they reached areas well beyond Islam’s actual limits of expansion such as Northern Europe. They also flowed into Sub-Saharan Africa, where they were valued and cherished for centuries in the Malian ancient kingdoms as a symbol of status and played an important role in the communities’ rites and ceremonies such a burials, initiation or dowries.

As per bead expert, Jamey Allen: Islamic Period beads are ca. 1000 years old. Dating from between ca CD 900-1200. They might be as early as CE 700, and as late as 1400. In 1400, Western Asian glass industries were destroyed by Tamerlane. And soon after, Egypt desisted as well. This is when Venice stepped in and became the glassmaker for all of Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean.


African Item 0146b