High Quality Strand of Russian Blue Trade Beads

Lovely strand of high-quality faceted Russian Blue beads from the African Trade. These lovely blue beads were made in Europe and then traded to Africa in the mid-19th though early 20th centuries. This a particularly nice strand, with the vast majority of the beads in excellent condition. As near as we can tell, none of the beads on this strand are the newer copies that have started coming into circulation.

This strand measures a healthy 36 inches long. One of the largest center beads measures 10 mm long with a diameter of 9 mm.

Note: These beads are not from Russia, despite the name. Instead, the name apparently comes from the Pacific Northwest of North America, where these types of beads were popular with Russian fur traders in the 19th century. We have our doubts as to whether this mythical Russian trader ever existed -- but there is no doubt these beads were popular with Native Americans. These particular beads, however, are from the African trade.