Black Skunks Venetian Trade Beads 36Inch

A beautiful group of black “Skunk” Venetian trade beads featuring the distinctive dotted decoration characteristic of this collectible bead type. Produced in Venice, these hand-crafted glass beads were made for the African trade and are admired for their bold contrast and decorative surface detail.

The rich black glass body is accented with applied dotted designs, giving each bead strong visual appeal and a unique handmade character. Highly sought after by collectors, Skunk beads are prized for both their historic trade significance and striking appearance.

An excellent addition to any antique bead collection, jewelry project, or ethnographic display.

"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.

This strand is not intended to be a ready-to-wear necklace. Although the strand can be worn "as is," the string holding it together is not durable and may break with use. For this reason, we recommend that you restring the beads before wearing them.

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