Descrição

Colar de contas de vidro conhecidas como contas de Kifa, contas de peregrina‹ção e outras contas de trocas. As contas de Kiffa s‹ão produzidas na cidade do mesmo nome, na Mauritâ‰nia. As vermelhas e com inscri›ções s‹ão contas de peregrina‹ção e originalmente apenas os que haviam visitado Meca podiam utiliz‡á-las. Essas contas e outras contas de trocas foram produzidas na Europa para o mercado africano. Aparentemente esse Ž um colar feito para turistas.

Hajj beads are worn by Muslims who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. These are made from a gorgeous crimson glass.
Additional information: Arabic writing and symbols on gorgeous clear glass. These beads are made in the Czech Republic (former Czechoslovakia) especially for pilgrims to Mecca. Only those who have made the journey (the hajj) are entitled to wear them, but the beads sometimes find their way into traders' pouches and are sold to non-pilgrims.
The art of making traditional Kiffa beads is gone. Such beads were originally made in Kiffa, Mauritania. They were used as hair adornments by Kiffa women. Nodody is really certain of the age of this period of Kiffa bead making. Most of the experts in this field date it to the early 1900s through to the 1940s.
Traditional Kiffa beads were individually produced by hand, with a central core made out of various materials. This core was sometimes made from dark gray powdered glass and sometimes non-glass materials. Using a needle and spit, tiny portions of red or blue or yellow or white powdered glass were laboriously applied to the bead core. This was done over and over again until the beads were totally covered with this outer layer of powdered glass. The semi-finished beads were then "cooked" over outdoor open fires until the powdered glass fused.
By the end of the 20th century, the secrets of this traditional process had been lost. Contemporary Kiffa beads like these imitate beads made in the old style.