Yellow Millefiori Elbow Venetian Trade Bead

Millefiori, translating to "a thousand flowers" in Italian, are also known as "mosaic" beads. Crafting these involves a two-step process: creating murrine or canes, then applying these to a molten glass core, shaping them into beads. Venice produced millefiori beads, massively exported to Africa from the late 1800s, and traded for various goods. Surviving bead sample cards, showcasing these beads' original sales, often date back to the 1920s, but their production likely began earlier, spanning from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s. In the late 1960s, antique millefiori beads arrived in the US from Africa, marketed as "Trade Beads" by importers and African Traders. Today, some traders still offer millefiori beads under the "Trade Beads" label.