African jewelry information

African jewelry’s are known for their quality and beauty all over the world. There are many types of African jewelry’s such as pendants, bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and other types of tribal African jewelry. Jewelry made from Africana and Africa can be great gifts for men, for women even for children.

Continent of Africa is the birth place of human and mankind civilization. It is also the place where people first wore and made jewelry. In Kenya over 40,000 years ago, beads were made from different materials and most of the time wood and different stones were the main materials. As time moved on Africa, the Africans craftsmen improved and developed their jewelry making techniques and today those products of the most beautiful jewelry in the world. The oldest African jewelry were discovered in 2004, in the place called Blombos cave on the southern tip of South Africa. Those jewelry are estimated at being over 75 500 years old and most of them are pea-sized or mollusk shell beads that had been pierced a long time ago.

Materials Used in African Jewelry

Throughout history Africans have tended to develop their work and they have started to use different organic materials and other materials that were readily available and suitable in their region to create their jewelry. Africans has used a different materials to make their products. First they started with those materials that they used to find in nature and then as the time moved they started to make different combinations and today they use almost every material for their jewelers. Jewelry may indicate an individual’s power, wealth and of course their standing in the society. The materials that Africans uses today range from sea shells and beads to gold and silver.

Here are some materials to make handmade African jewelry: amber, carved stone, glass, wood, paper, wood,ivory, animal hair, egg shells, bone, sea shells and a lot of other things.A long time ago African peoples have cherished different beads and appreciated a lot their beauty. They have always made beautiful jewelry of various materials, perforated, beads are small and often rounded small objects found around the world. African beads in particular has become element of African adornment and are widely used in African regalia and clothing.

Beads and handmade jewelry have played an important role in Africans life and in the court life of African kingdoms, being valued sometimes as currency and sometimes as an artistic creation. The materials used to make those African products have varied over time, and include stone, clay, paper, metal, wood, shells and glass.

Handmade African Beads has often been complemented and enhanced with other beads like, brilliantly white cowrie. Those beats have also served as source of embellishment and currency and have been widely traded around Africa.White stone beads have been found near Nigeria- Nok. Those have been discovered 1588 years ago. In the 15 century, artists in Nigeria (the Kingdom of Benin), have started to use coral beads, brought in large quantities by people in Portugal, to make elaborate regalia and clothing for their kings.

Glass originally in the sort of imported beads or bottles, is another important uncooked material in African bead creating. The bead makers either terrain up or broke the glass and then they melted it, along with produced new products of beads.

Throughout history, Africans have imported glass beads along with used them for add on and elaborate beadwork. At Djenne’, Mali, Roman-style along with Egyptian Ptolemaic period (304-30 M. C. ) glass beads, traded across the Sahara, are found at sites dated from 300 B. H. to A. D. 250. Along the coast of eastern Africa, opaque glass beads from India are discovered in sites dated to your. D. 200. A bead market also existed in Mapungubwe, South Africa, from A. N. 600 to 1200. It’s not known whether the goblet for these beads was produced locally or brought in.

Since the fifteenth century, Europeans have brought to Africa millions of goblet beads from Italy, The Netherlands Bohemia and (now part of the Czech Republic). European companies specialized in bead trade to Africa and offered many designs. They produced “trading cards” showing the assortment of bead types thus to their African customers and visitors.

Chevron beads, produced mainly in Venice along with shipped to Africa since the sixteenth century, have been especially popular in Western side Africa. Today, these samples and cards allow researchers to spot and date specific sorts of beads. In many areas, men wear them during necklace ensembles to show their status and prosperity.

Fulani gold earrings

The Fulani which are also called the Fula or Fulbe, are well known all over the world for their jewelry crafting. The special super-large gold twist earrings can be up to five inches long and usually is made out of silver or gold.
As is true with most African this specific quickly and thoroughly conveys the wealth and status in the wearer. Traditionally the nomadic Fulani, wear their wealth inside their jewelry. They can carry this using them wherever they go; and then easily buy goods from people they meet.

Interesting Fact about African Jewelry

Archeologists have found beaded necklaces and beads buried with chiefs and kings in ancient African graves. Wearing and most important owning and old African jewelry or bead is believed to provide wisdom, hope, luck and well-being to its owner.

Economical and traditional African Jewelry

You can see a huge selection of African necklaces, African earrings and African bracelets, for you to own and wear. You will be able to wear together an African jewelry set for every day style! Almost all of African products are handmade, so you’re sure to get something special and unique. Today is so easy to find African products because almost every online shop has something from famous African culture.

Throughout African societies across history, the type and level of jewelry worn represent the wealth in the wearer. Rulers and chiefs using some parts of Africa wore different beads using their company subjects to distinguish themselves since the ruler or chief. In Africa art of jewelry making was encouraged to show that the rulers had a prosperous kingdom. Definitely jewelry is important part for Africans.In some elements of Africa, a person’s wealth is measured by the number of livestock he owns. As soon as livestock is killed regarding food, every part in the animal is used. So the bones usually are crafted into jewelry for them to be used for a thing. They believe that if a person is wearing many bits of bone jewelry, he may be pretty wealthy and lucky.