BEAD

Twenty-six long drawn beads with a single cylindrical central perforation extending along the length of the bead. Varying in size, the beads measure approximately 25 mm in length and 8 mm in diameter, and some signs of wear are visible. The beads all have an opaque white core, cased in opaque red, cased in opaque white and finally cased in translucent blue on the exterior. The inner layers form a star pattern. The diameter cross-section is roughly cylindrical in the centre, whilst at the upper and lower ends the cross-section changes to become faceted in an octagonal shape, allowing the layers to be seen from the side.

These polychrome beads are of a type known as 'chevron' or 'rosetta' beads, which for several hundred years have been a speciality of the Venetian glassmakers. First appearing in the late 15th century, they were made from a short section of drawn-out hollow cane in a translucent greenish glass, coated with six further layers of white, translucent greenish, red and blue glass, and given a star-like cross-section by pressing in a 12-pointed corrugated mould; the canes were then cut into short lengths and the ends ground to expose the inner layers. Later beads may have fewer layers; they are still being made in Venice today, albeit in very small quantities. These beads can reach up to 90 mm in length and 60 mm in diameter, however the more common size is 20-30 mm in length and 10 mm in diameter.

In the UK, chevron beads usually belong to 16th or 17th century contexts, but they were also made in quantity for export to West Africa and the Americas, and the peak of production came during the 19th and early 20th centuries. These later beads were usually of four and six layers, in red, blue and white. Chevron beads are still highly valued in present-day West Africa, where they continue to be worn for prestige and ceremonial purposes, and are occasionally buried with the dead.