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Lovely little clear barrel bead hanging pendants fashioned to resemble Islamic hirz prayer amulets, named "Haulare" or “Holari” for protection, in West Africa.Circa late 1800's - early 1900's. Traded in Africa. Each of these sturdy, elegant barrel beads has a...

Rita designed our handmade sterling silver and gold-plated hook-and-double eye clasps and soon discovered that other designers loved them too. They are sturdy and easy to grasp, and add elegance to the closure of any necklace. Sterling Silver Clasps Available...

A long strand of mixed stone and glass beads in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors — mostly ancient with some antique pieces. Why We Love This StrandSo much history strung together — agate, rock crystal, carnelian, and...

Shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? Give them the gift of choice with a Rita Okrent Collection gift card. May be used on any product in the shop. Gift cards are delivered by email and...

Antique black and white Venetian beads, King beads and black and yellow cross hair beads Antique, from the African Trade. Circa late 1800's - early 1900's. Beads range from 11-14mm diameter. 25 inches of beads.  60 beads total. African Item...

Lovely small antique/old granulated bicone beads,  in gold and silver, hand crafted by Mauritanian silversmiths.Sold by half-dozen (6).  Each bead is hand-selected specifically for your order. Damaged beads now available at a discount.These are superb collector's beads, handcrafted by Mauritanian...

A necklace of rare ancient glass and stone beads from West African trade routes, and featuring a very special ceramic Pre-Columbian spindle whorl, adorned with a circle dot motif, sourced by Rita in the 1980's for use in her own...

A selection of antique, colorful glass talhakimt - tanfouk amulets from the West African Trade. Circa early 1900's.Glass talhakimt pendants were produced by both the French and Czech-Bohemian bead industries during the trade bead era, in this case between the...

These silver and gold-washed beauties were handmade in Mauritania by skilled silversmiths, and are perfect for earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Sold by the half dozen and dozen. Beads range from 3.5mm - 6 mm. (Some variation in designs, and sizes)....

Neolithic citrine quartz and agate stone beads from the Sahara and Sahel regions of West Africa, made by hunter-gatherer societies who had not yet developed fine polishing and faceting techniques. Sold individually. Why We Love These Beads Each bead offers...

A lovely necklace adorned with a Chinese silver lock pendant and Chinese silver gourd amulets for luck, turquoise and coral. Wonderful silver work in repousse silver. These silver padlocks were hung around a baby’s neck during the first month celebration...

A mix of small exquisite granulated silver and gilded silver beads from Mauritania in damaged condition. Many of these beads arrived at our collection in imperfect condition but are still useful as jewelry supplies. These short strands of 11 mixed...

A shop favorite in quantity - An opportunity to own a full strand of our lovely little Bohemian glass barrel bead / hanging pendants fashioned to resemble Islamic hirz prayer amulets,. Each of these sturdy, elegant barrel beads has a...

Lovely old Mauritanian Southern Cross / Boghdod Cross amulets. Sold individually. This is an example of a larger group. Your amulets will resemble these in photo and be in equally good condition.Used by the Tukulor people of Mauritania and Senegal...

A super cute old silver / metal eye beaded choker necklace on a chain with a southern cross. Provenance: Either from Mauritania or Morocco. Jewels travel! Circa 1970's or later. Choker / short necklace length: 16 inch chain (7.5-8" each...

Graduated strands of vintage or antique Bohemian Vaseline beads in yellow.Sourced in Ethiopia. Manufactured using a prosser mold  either in the late 1800's or early 1900's. These beads may be from the revival period of these beads in the mid-20th...

An exquisite, wearable antique woven silver snake chain necklace adorned with 7 intricate interlocking beads. The snake chain is finely woven and flexible, with the focal bead featuring detailed granulation work. Sourced in Sri Lanka in the 1970s, this piece...

This is a graduated 107 bead strand of antique glowing opalescent glass beads known as Moon beads. Provenance: From the 1700's, traded and prized in both East and West Africa.  Why we love this strand: The opalescent beads have a...

A well-worn necklace featuring 23 antique Ottoman silver coins suspended from a hand-linked silver chain. Coins vary in size and have been rounded for wear on the necklace. A worn hirz amulet — a cylindrical case traditionally used to hold...

Exquisite Antique Small Silver and Gold-Washed Mauritanian Beads with Granulation and Decoration. Sold by the dozen and half dozen in 3 variations: silver, gold-wash, or a mix. Beads are hand-selected for every order. Fabulous for design and for collecting. Wonderful...

Vintage brass granulated berry beads, made in Yemen via the lost wax method of casting.  These traditional beads are useful for jewelry design and are always an exciting find. Sold individually. Each bead is unique. Note: Some have silver or...

Maria Theresa Thaler (MTT) coin adorned with bells, dangles and decorative metal. Double eagle on back. These coins were originally minted in Austria in the 1740's - most MTT coins are dated to 1780 as is this one. Hard to...

Hallmarked, high silver vintage / old temporal ornament, with 4 dangles, silver pendants and old glass Prosser beads. Provenance: From somewhere around the Western Riff to Meknes, in Morocco. Condition: Very good. Some chains are not original and the pendants...

An old Tibetan horse harness accoutrement made from Yak bone. From Rita's design room, sourced in the 1980's. Could be a very interesting focal pendant tied with cord or leather. Weighs 34 grams. Measures 1.87 inches/4.7 cm in length. Pendant...

Handmade large artisanal enameled green, blue and yellow/gold eye beads from Morocco. Measure 32x30-31mm. 2mm holes.  Sold individually. Perfect for use as focal or large accent beads! New Production Item 101

A graduated strand of diamond-shaped agate and carnelian beads, found in Mali and hand cut in India, where the stone bead trade goes back thousands of years. Why We Love This Strand  Lightweight for their size, but surprisingly sturdy —...

Small Antique Carnelian Tuareg Tanfouk/Talhakimt Hair Ornaments. Rare and hard to come by, offered in sets of three. Circa 1700s-1800s. Made in Cambay, a historic city in Gujarat, India, for the African trade. These are early examples predating the larger...

Lovely antique/ old silver chain adorned with unique pendants from Rita's design room.  The chain is adorned with an antique partial pendant with granulation that looks like it's from Yemen or Turkey. At some point, Rita attached an antique brass...

Graduated well worn antique Hebron beads in yellow with some greenish hues. 49 beads on this strand. Hebron beads were traditionally made using sand from the village of Bani Na'im and sodium carbonate from the Dead Sea. From the 18th...

Tiger hat, Xian China Artifacts and Antiques Item 025

Large Excavated Metal Hair Metal Hair Pins, Mali. Sold individually. These are so interesting. Great for an unusual gift or as part of a design in your artisanal work. Pin on far right and second from left (main photo) available....

24 inch strands of Neolithic-era mixed translucent and solid beige, white, clear, off-white beads from Mauritania.These beads are the perfect size to work with and have a beachie, boho feeling to them. They have a lovely glow due to the...

Antique Carnelian Idar-Oberstein carnelian pendants and beads, some with chips from wear and tear. This group also includes an unusual jug bead.These beads / pendants were manufactured in Idar-Oberstein, Germany circa late 1800's - early 1900s and traded in Africa. Sourced...

Short strands of mixed metal matched berry beads made by Yemenite silversmiths. Circa early to mid 1900's. A mix of coin silver, metal and silver as often silver coins were melted down and mixed in with silver to make jewelry...

Rare and gorgeous small yellow glass Indo Pacific - Trade Wind - Nila Beads.  These glass beads are from the early Islamic era, and were found in the Timbuktu, Mali. Estimated to be at least several hundred years old, likely...

These sparkly, bubbly vintage purple sugar beads from Germany are some of my favorite beads and are wonderful to wear as earrings.  They have lovely texture and look good on. Note: these look different depending on the light, so expect...

Graduated well worn antique Hebron beads. Mostly green with 4 yellow beads and 1 blue bead.  Hebron beads were traditionally made using sand from the village of Bani Na'im and sodium carbonate from the Dead Sea. From the 18th to...

Two mixed size strands of new production/ slightly vintage faux amber resin beads made in Morocco. Strand of 5: More caramel brown. Beads range from 14-20.5mm diameter. Strand of 6: More orange. Beads range from 15.3-21.4mm diameter. African Item 1898

Mauritanian Gilt Silver Gold Washed Hair Ornaments. These hair ornaments come from the Tukolor peoples of Senegal and Mauritania. They are hard to find and very special. Could be useful as jewelry supplies in necklaces or earrings.Hole at top. 20mm...

Dutch glass moon beads from the 1700’s-1800’s, discovered in Ethiopia. From the early bead trade. 104 beads. Mostly moon beads with iridescence. s range from 8-13mm with many beads in the 10-12mm range. Prized and collectible beads due to their...

Choice of two varied 21 bead strands of well worn old Yemeni granulated brass beads with a one or two silver beads. Made by Yemeni silversmiths circa 1950's. Every bead is a bit different in shape and design. Good overall condition....

A short strand of 6 vintage brown and white and black and white faux glass Tibetan Dzi beads from the 1980's. Rita was a collector of authentic ancient Dzi beads, but these are just some copies of Dzi beads she...

These old white large porcelain glass Goomba beads were found in Nigeria. Lovely strands of old beads. Note: Strand in photo is representative of available strands. Several strands available. No two beads or strands are exactly the same.  Beads have...

Choice of strands of vintage handmade silver spacer beads, from Yemen. Beads measure 4-6mm diameter (most in 5.5mm range) x 3-3.5mm hole to hole. Large bead holes 2mm+. Circa 1950's Yemen. Coin silver or above silver content. Nice feel to...

 Mauritanian Gilded Silver Gold Washed Rectangular Hair Bead Ornaments.These hair ornaments or temporal pendants come from the Tukolor peoples of Senegal and Mauritania. They are collectible, authentic and very special. Circa mid 1900's. These pendants have wear. Sold separately. Photos...

Mixed ancient glass beads found in the Sub-Saharan Africa. You will receive a strand from our broad inventory of nila bead strands. See photos for examples of strands.  Select your preferred type of strand from drop down. Smaller bead strands...