African Rendille old oval white hearts ca late 19th c Necklace Samburu Kenya.
This is an old mid to late 19th c tribal wedding necklace made from giraffe hair and wound animal hide covered in ochre. The beads are old Venetian oval white hearts from the 19th century, or cornaline d'Aleppo (French for carnelian from Aleppo), a term coined for this bead around the 1870s although no carnelian is used for it. If you look at the photos, the white core shines through the red wound glass top layer. The beads themselves measure approximately 11 mm.
This simple necklace is an older type and is very fragile. It has damage to the hair and I took extensive photos to document it.
This necklace will benefit from restoration or could be used to salvage the beads (which are very rare and collectible) and components. There are approximately 33 old white hearts, although I was very careful with the sections and did not separate them completely to do an extensive count.
Measures approximately 8 inches in diameter.
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