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You are here : Hand Made African Beads > Glass, Bottle
Bottle Glass
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Bottle Glass Beads are native to Africa. They are mainly from Ghana and some from Nigeria. They are made by old bottles being crushed into powder; they are then moulded into the bead shape, re-fired in mud kilns at low temperatures so the bead remains granular. The beads below are typical of bottle glass beads in that they are mostly of one colour, an indication of the original colour of the scrap bottle. These beads are often referred to as 'Sea Glass' because of their similarity to beach glass. A leaf stem is placed in the centre of the mould which burns away to leave the hole. The most famous of the African glass beads are the Bodom in Ghana, Kiffa in Mauritania and Bida in Nigeria. |
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Small Bottle Glass Beads The beads pictured to the left are all in a rudimentary flower shape in all different colours, measuring between 0.5cm to 1.5cm - they are extremely beautiful and are gorgeous in jewellery.
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yellow disk | 
clear disk |
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Medium Round Glass Beads These beads range are +/- 1.5cms and the range of colours is very bright.
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green | 
very light green | 
dark blue |
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Glass Disks and Very Small Glass Beads Here the beads are very small, they are either in a cup like shape or have an outer roundish appearance. There are also the glass disks which are +/- 1cm. These ring like glass disks came originally from Venice, they are now made and are one of the Dogon people of Mali favourites, they call them 'Ashara.'
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brownish pale orange |
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very light green | 
blue | 
clear |
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Large Bottle Glass Beads They measure +/- 2-3cms in diameter, are quite heavy, but very beautiful.
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