NYIKA: African Trade Kiffa beads, glass beads, pewter necklace

Jewelry : Artisan : Necklaces : Ooak, (One Of A Kind), Wearable Art, Ethnic Inspired

 

This necklace is made with Kiffa beads, a type of African Trade bead named for the town they are made in: Kiffa, Muritania, Africa. Depending on your source, Kiffa beads were first made as long as a thousand years ago, or 400 to 500 years ago. One thing the experts seem to agree on is that over the years the art of making Kiffa beads was lost, and they no longer could be found. In more recent years, the women of Kiffa have been reclaiming this lost art. If you would like to learn more about these beads, please contact me and I'll be happy to share what I have learned about these vibrant, talisman beads.

In the style of some African necklaces, I combined these beads with a variety of different beads and colors. Pressed Czech glass leaves, hematite and pewter beads, a variety of glass beads as well as other African Trade beads comprise the rest of this unique one of a kind necklace.

This is the first of a series of necklaces using African Trade beads I will have in my shop. (Nyika means The Earth)

It is approximately 22 inches long. The clasp is magnetic and extremely strong.

Item ID: SC-161