Brass Strand of Beads

Scalloped discs stacked in threes, each pinned by a ribbed bar.

This is a strand of beads. It is brass. Strands of metal beads were traditionally worn as ornament and as a form of portable wealth in many parts of Africa and Asia. Each element is a long ribbed bar flanked by three overlapping rounded lobes of engraved spiral rings. The golden surface is worn, with traces of green tarnish and tiny cracks. Several bars loop together in a U.

Overlapping circles worked out with unusual neatness.