Malian Strand of Beads

Long red tubes at the bottom of the loop, among smaller beads of blue and yellow.

This strand of beads is from Mali, West Africa. It is excavated glass. Excavated glass beads often show weathering, with a dull or pearly crust where the glass has reacted with the soil. Several long, glossy red tube beads sit low in the curve beside a pale blue tube, flanked by yellow, white and dark beads. Smaller muted beads run up the sides. A scrap of loose thread sticks out at the top.

The reds are plainly the stars of this loop.