Exquisitely delicate lines in red, white and blue lead to circles along the spine of this 1980s, or probably much older, Kiffa Bead
25mm tall, 17mm long base, with a small missing chip at the above the perforation and a tiny chip in the lower right corner that I didn't even see until it was magnified.
I bought this bead, and almost all of my Kiffas from Howard and Marie-Jose Opper who were among the earliest to study, collect and bring kiffas out of Mauritania.
Called Muraqad in Mauritania, they were made by women starting around 1820 to 1830 and used as hair ornaments and on necklaces.
The process uses the wet-pack method of powderglass beadmaking in which the different colors of pulverized glass are moistened before being applied to the base bead shape. They are heated until the glass just fuses, but doesn't liquify, which would ruin the design. The result is a semi-matte surface.
These beads are not to be confused with the proliferation of "kiffa" fakes on the market that are made in Indonesia with overly bright colors, crude patterns, a glossy finish and narrower and more irregular triangle shape.
See AFE-727, AFE-728 and AFT-124 for more triangle Kiffas
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