1. Home
  2. Needlework Board
  3. 17th Century Beads

17th Century Beads

Through my other hobby of Genealogy, I have recently taken an interest in African Trade beads.

These were used by African tribes to barter with European traders in exchange for such things as brandy, cloth, guns, gold, iron, copper, tobacco and sadly even human beings (slaves).

Some of the beads were highly prized and when bought back to Europe, could fetch high prices amongst the rich, who would use them for decoration on clothes, wall hangings, tapestries and other quality household items.

I have now been very kindly given around 60 of these beads by one of my genealogy contacts. They naturally vary in size and shape after being hand made of course and some are made of shells, ivory, glass, clay, natural stones, resin and wood. Sizes vary from 3mm to around 15mm, some round and flat, others similar to bugle beads.

I have had them dated and valued by experts, who tell me they are from around the mid - late 17th century and are from the West Coast of Africa.

So what I am thinking of doing is trying to incorporate these beads into perhaps a small collage wall hanging and I wonder if anyone can give me some ideas on how to go about it?

I am thinking maybe the hanging should try and show the use of these beads and since the person whom I got them from has white slave traders in his ancestry, it is possible they have been used for that purpose, so I am keen to follow that line for the display.

The beads are very beautiful and I feel they should be seen, not hidden away in a cupboard or drawer. They have a story attached to them which I would like to show in stitches.

So if anyone has any ideas, or can point me in the directions of traditional African style charts, I would be grateful.

Thank you.

Tracy

Reply to
Tracy Dunne
Loading thread data ...

My first (and only!) thought was "Wow, what a great crazy quilt piece you could do with them!" Have you ever done any CQ?

Jacquel>Through my other hobby of Genealogy, I have recently taken an interest in

Reply to
Jacqueline Cahoon

I have done a little, although not for many years. However, I am open to suggestions as to how I can display these beads along with their story to it's best effect, and had thought about maybe a little collage or surface embroidery, with maybe some fabric patches too.

Maybe a whole array of stitching techniques could be used. My mind is soo full of ideas, but I thought if anyone else could throw any more to me, I could come up with something truly original :o)

Tracy

Reply to
Tracy Dunne

Reply to
Mirjam Bruck-Cohen

on 7/30/05 9:17 AM, Tracy Dunne at snipped-for-privacy@removethis.ntlworld.com posted:

*snip*

There are several Africn designs under the "Southern Roots" charts. If you're thinking of a wall-hanging, such as a quilted one - there are kit patterns for piecing African type wall hangings. You could even do simple blocks, and feature some of the beads in the center of each block, maybe embroider some info. Anyhow, there are a lot of African print fabrics about

- you might look on equilter.com . Also, if you have the patience, you can look through HGTV, "Simply Quilts" with Alex Anderson. On one of her shows she had a woman who does some very interesting things with AFricn themes, and authentic African cloth that she brings back from Africa.

Good luck - do let us know what you come up with.

Ellice

Reply to
Ellice

InspirePoint website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.