7 Yellow "End of Day" Venetian Trade Beads

These are called "end of the day" beads because it was thought that the beadmakers cleaned up all of the glass fragments at the end of the day and made these beads with them. However, these are purposely made this way--with wonderful results!

"Trade Beads" refer to beads primarily produced in Venice, Bohemia, and other European countries from the late 1400s to the early 1900s, traded in Africa and the Americas. The peak of this trade occurred from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s, with the Venetians dominating production. J.F. Sick and Co. and Moses Lewin Levin played significant roles as bead brokers/importers. The beads gained renewed popularity in the late 1960s when exported from Africa to the U.S. and Europe. The term "Trade Beads" became widely used, and they were also known as "Love Beads" during the Hippie era. As demand grew, specific names like "Russian Blues" and "Dutch Donuts" emerged, contributing to the beads' collectability. Today, these beads are highly sought after, with some styles becoming rarer as African traders venture deeper into the continent to find them.

7 Beads

Bead Size
17-20 mm diameter, 24-32 mm p-p. Please see picture with penny for size compar

132705