Necklace of Berber Amber from Morocco, with huge blue enameled eye bead.
Strand includes 19 inches of amber and silver beads with additional 10 inches of black glass beads.
Focal beads include 16 amber beads 20-28mm diameter, one huge blue enameled oval eye bead 57x45mm, 2 plain silver/white metal beads 27mm diameter, two 22mm silver enameled with yellow, green and blue eye designs, and 4 smaller silver beads.
Only one available
Amber has a special place in the Berber culture of Morocco's Atlas Mountains, were it is treasured for its beauty and and near-magical medicinal properties. Strands are traditionally given by a man to his wife upon marriage, and worn on special occasions thereafter.
Far less expensive than the antique African Amber from Mali and west Africa, these resin beads also have a greater range of colors, from dark red through to light amber, as well as more varied shapes, and sizes.
They have an individually handmade feel - more as if molded from a soft material than carved from a hard one - and I'm inclined to believe the trader I bought them from, who says that they are locally made. I haven't seen anything quite like them in any of the other amber-loving regions of the world I visit.
Back in the early 1970's when I was last in Morocco I saw Mali style African Amber and some obviously plastic imitations in Berber necklaces, along with some real copal.
The strands I'm offering here seem to be a somewhat more recent iteration of the the flamboyant Berber jewelry that has endured for centuries, and shows no signs of fading away. I hope to learn more when I revisit Morocco this fall.
Large African beads as home decor accents is a trend I'm seeing more and more, and nothing lights up a room like a strand of these snaking across a coffee table or hanging on a wall....add a stack of books about African art, a hammered brass bowl, and maybe a plant...Whatever you do with them enjoy!
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