Strand of Venetian Chevron Trade Beads

This strand of 12 large chevron beads is from Venice and also includes small aja disc-like beads used as spacers and also from Venice. The ends of the strands are finished with small blue prosser beads from France.

The chevron beads are particularly large examples. Each has either four or six well-matched layers of red, white and blue glass. ‘Six-layer’ chevron beads were produced in Venice from the early 19th century largely for the new colonies established by Europeans in Africa. ‘Six-layer’ chevrons were regarded as having attained the highest level of splendour, with impeccable cut and colour (Panini, 2008, p. 177).

Chevron beads (also known as rosetta beads) and aja beads were important for the African bead trade, and Venetian glass bead makers produced them with the West African market specifically in mind.

Chevron beads were first created in Venice around 1500. They were made for the next 500 years. They involved fusing layer upon layer of different coloured glass over a core and then grinding and polishing the resulting bead back to reveal a striped pattern on the sides and a star pattern on the ends. Chevron beads were one of the great trade bead exports from Venice.  West Africa was once of the main markets for the beads, where they were highly prized by different tribes and particularly the Kuba people in the Ivory Coast. Often the beads were incorporated into the necklaces of local chiefs and often were included in royal treasuries. Nigeria, Mali, Congo and Guinea were other important markets. As a consequence, these types of beads often have been sourced from Africa, and the stringing of such beads often  reflects African tastes.

Fisher (1987, p. 61) illustrates a Dinka elder in Sudan who claimed that the old Venetian chevron beads in his necklace were ‘a gift from God’. Fisher mentions that such beads are rare in East Africa and had probably been traded in from West Africa.

In addition to West Africa, early on, the beads were exported to South America and Java in Indonesia.

The beads here are in fine condition. The strand does not have a closure but with the addition of one could then be worn as a necklace.