For your bidding pleasure is a set of African sand cast trade beads. The beads of the first necklace are in the typical earth tone colors seen with this type of bead. The beads have a grey base color with black and red stripes set into them. The beads on this strand average 1/4" long X 3/8" wide. The next strand is a rare dark blue color. Sand cast beads aren't often seen in strong solid colors, given the method used to make them from recycled scrap glass. These beads are 1/4" X 1/4" and are so well matched it can be assumed they were cut from the same cane. The last necklace is made of light blue beads with four darker beads and eighteen medium blue mixed in. The beads in this necklace are from 3/16" long by 3/16” wide to 1/4" X 1/4". The technique for creating this style of bead started in Ghana during the 16th century. Very fine pieces of crushed glass are held together with a binding material, such as saliva or gum Arabic, and spread over a grass stem or a bottle glass core. After cooking in the oven, the beads are rolled in other small pieces of glass to create patterns or left plain. The longest necklace measures 29 1/2" long; the next necklace is 26" and the last is 25". The bead necklaces are in very good condition for their age.