Moroccan copal bead for tribal belly dance jewelry making.
Size: From 1.75 to 2 inches across the flat side
Bead Circumference: About 6-3/8 inches
Hole size: About 4 mm
Color: Opaque orange with splashes of red
Materials: Copal tree resin
Attachment: Hole for stringing onto cord
This bead is not new, and has been used previously to adorn large necklaces.
Some darker spots and wear from previous use.
Large copal bead from Morocco. These beads are handmade in Morocco from tree resins and shaped into all sizes of beads. Beauase of the handmade nature of these beads, they are not perfectly round and reflect the tribal nature of their origin. These beads have been made here in North Africa for many many years and incorporated into local jewelry styles . They are made in many colors, from beautiful amber yellow to orange to cherry red. Each bead has a fairly large hole for stringing onto necklaces or other projects. Older beads are sometimes coated in varnish to improve shine. Beautiful focal bead from tribal Morocco!
Very large bead. Please see photos with measuring tape and in hand for size.
Berber, or Imazighen (‘Free people’; plural of Amazigh) women are the carriers of the cultural & ethnic identity through their art forms – jewelry, carpet & fabric weaving, fashion, and embroidery. Necklaces, headdresses and bracelets using silver, coral, amber, beads and other elements, and even the colors and designs all have meaning. Tattooing was once widely practiced among women. In the recent past, when a girl reached puberty, sometime between the ages of eleven and fourteen, her mother, aunts, or family friends would tattoo her face and wrists. Tattooing was a rite of passage, marking a girl‘s transition into womanhood. Usually small groups of girls were tattooed at the same time, making it a very social activity, shared and passed on among women. (Today tattooing is a violation of Islamic law so is no longer practiced.)
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