The magic of bone beads opens up a whole new arena for creativity.
This collection of approximately 88 pieces of rounded water buffalo bone hair pipe tube beads from India, all have simple, but very distinctive African-inspired designs which have been applied to the bone through a process known as batik.
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 stylish Boho or Vintage-inspired jewellery.
And each pipe has a 1.5-2mm centre drill hole for easy threading. And affordable at around 0.24 cents each.
These tube pipes are hand-made throughout Asia, particularly 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.