New Tribal Items: A Note About Tribal Jewelry

TRIBAL: This word, and its varied meanings, covers the entire world today. One of its meanings goes back many thousands of years. Beads are said to be the first artistic form man ever created, often by carving agate, serpentine and carnelian stones, or whatever petty stones they could find, always taking advantage of natural patterns and shapes in the stones. They are with us today in collections and still occasionally found at dig sites.

TRIBAL can mean artifacts found, created and worn by the various groups of humanity we call tribes. These artifacts can be made of stone, clay, lava rock, amber, shell, bone and whatever material was indigenous to the area where they lived. Later, with the coming of metals , bronze, copper, silver, tin, and all their alloys and embellishments, all these possibilities added to their remarkable skills and artistic achievements.

TRIBAL can also mean TRADE beads, the beautiful and colorful Venetian glass beads that were later sought after by the tribal people in exchange for gold and other treasures European royalty and traders valued.

Traded artifacts of any kind were worn, prized, traded to other tribes and often require soap and water and a good polishing when they come into the collections of modern man. But they are always prized, even when they show wear. They just tell a fascinating story and it is our pleasure to listen.