Just imagine what you could do with these beads; they’re useful, colourful, and very versatile, and there are plenty of them.
This multicoloured collection of more than 700 dyed pieces of hand-carved water buffalo and cow bone beads from India, comprises a host of shapes including tubes, cylinders, rondels, hair pipes, disks, rings, rounds, saucers, and washers.
Some have a very distinctive African-inspired design - applied to the bone through a process known as batik – an ancient method that goes like this: once the bead has been shaped, cleaned, and bleached, the raw bone surface is ready for the batik process.
Skilled craftsmen and women then hand-carve or paint a design with a hot solution of clear beeswax.
This wax is essential to the process because of its ability to, not only penetrate the pores of the bone surface which forms the required impenetrable barrier called a ‘resist’ but once dried, also allows the non-waxed areas of the bone to be tinted to a colour of choice.
Finally, a lacquer sealant is applied which completes the batik process.
These beads are now ready to be used to create North American warrior-style choker necklaces, Indian breastplates, costumes, or ethnic tribal jewellery - including necklaces, bracelets, and ankle bangles.
Great also for art and craft projects, teaching, counting, or simply for creating a stylish Boho or vintage-inspired piece of jewellery.
These tube pipes are hand-made throughout Asia, in particular the Indian sub-continent, Thailand, Indonesia, Borneo, and China. They are also made in Africa, particularly in Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.
The accompanying photos illustrate what to expect in your order; please note that some images have been enlarged to show detail.