One 23-inch strand of round and barrel shape beads, graduated in size from 8mm to 28mm diameter
Bought in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoir in the early 1970s, these beads were called "Guinea Amber" by the Hausa traders in the markets. I understood that to mean the came from Guinea or Guinea-Bissou further up the coast in West Africa.
They seem to be of the same material and age as the oblate shapes from Mali known as "African Amber" or "Copal Amber"
These were made from a phenolic thermosetting resin known as PF Resin or Bakelite, patented in 1909 for industrial uses. By 1910-20 it was being used for imitation amber and costume jewelry in Europe. Soon thereafter Bohemian glass beadmakers catering to the African market introduced the original “African Amber” between the world wars, with shapes and designs specifically created to please their customers, who quickly adopted it for its own merits.
This strand surfaced in my "basement hoard" several boxes of beads that hadn't been opened since I moved 25 years earlier.
It's an interesting collector strand since these shapes are quite rare, there's also one greening barrel bead and the smallest round beads at the back of the strand are as translucent as baltic amber, but their hole sizes match the African beads. Some bead look like they could have inclusions, while others are more opaque.
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