BMLW1 – Lost Wax Brass Bead Strand, 25 mm, Ghana

Description

Look at how beautiful these brass beads are! The units making up each bead appear twisted like rope, and look wrapped in the center and on the ends, forming cage like beads. The opening on each end is quite wide (approximately 1/8″ or .4 cm), and easily accommodates the thick natural twine that they are strung on. A patina on the metal gives a slight variation in color to each of the beads.

Average Dimensions:

Bead Size: 1″ (2.5 cm) long, .5″ (12 mm) diameter
Strand Length: 21.5 inches (55 centimeters) 20 beads per strand

Please examine the photos carefully. We have made every attempt to get as close to the color as possible, but different monitors do interpret these colors differently. And, you will notice that the sizes of the beads do vary from strand to strand. Flaws, hairline cracks and uneven finishing is part of this handmade process.

This video does a good job of showing the steps used in casting these kinds of beads. It does not show how the original wax piece is constructed, which would have been interesting, too:

From the Beadazzled.net dictionary of beads:

Lost-Wax Casting In Africa

The Baoulé people of Cote d’Ivoire in West Africa are members of the Akan group that also includes the Ashanti. The Akan have used the lost-wax, or cire-perdue, casting method for centuries. Their first ornaments were probably made of locally mined gold. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was first brought across the Sahara by Arab camel caravans and later to West African ports by European trading ships. Today beads and ornaments are still made by this ancient method in Ghana and the Ivory Coast—in gold for chiefs and other important persons, and in brass (often erroneously called bronze) for more humble bead-lovers in Africa and abroad.

To make a bead or pendant, the craftsman first makes a model from beeswax, usually forming it from thin wax threads. Besides spherical beads and bicones, popular designs include disks, rectangles, and other geometric shapes, as well as human masks and animal motifs. The beadmaker coats the model with a slurry of fine clay and charcoal and then envelops it in coarser clay. When making small beads, he may encase several models in this thick clay mold. When the mold is heated, the melted wax drains out though openings left for this purpose (sprues), and molten brass is poured into the resulting cavity. After it cools, the mold is broken to free the casting, rough spots are filed down, and the ornament is polished with fine sand and lemon juice or a grinding wheel, if the maker can afford one. Brass beads may be given a gold wash for a more brilliant finish, or polished with black wax for an antique look. Unlike other types of casting, the lost-wax method insures that every bead is a unique original because once the mold is broken open it can’t be reused.

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Afghan Tribal Arts is owned by Abdul Wardak who has imported from Afghanistan and the region since the late 1980’s. Abdul has a passion for all things handmade, but beads and rugs form the core part of his business. The gallery and showroom is located at 626 Broadway in downtown Paducah, Kentucky (USA).

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