Rare and Lovely Striped Kiffa Bead from Mauritania spacer and have such character

and have such character

these dangles measure approximately 22mm diameter x 5mm wide x 5mm thick (hollow) with 2mm bail

61 grams of ancient beads

but could be coin silver

17mm x 12mm x 4mm

Rare and Lovely Striped Kiffa Bead from Mauritania spacer and have such characterThis very cool and magical bead was made in Kiffa, Mauritania. It is very old and was made as a female fertility charm, mainly by women artists. Historically, Kiffa beads are very important as its ancient technique (dating to 1000 years ago) made it one of the oldest glass bead making processes in Africa, which was purely African in origin. This bead is around 200 years old, possibly older; 11mm diameter. Fabricated to mimic a popular Venetian bead