The red color is found in many beads in Africa and throughout the world. The color red has symbolized many things throughout the ages including passion, courage, and sacrifice in Western traditions. In Eastern traditions, red has a generally positive connotation. For example, in China red is associated with loyalty, success, honor, and fortune. It can be associated with both the masculine and the feminine. Interestingly, even within Africa the color red has a variety of associations depending on the local culture. Ndembu warriors in Central Africa traditionally painted themselves with red during celebrations. In Zulu South Africa, Red Beads are primarily used for ceremonial purposes such as circumcisions, funerals, and special dances and festivals. Similarly, in some places the sick may be painted red since this is an ambivalent color between life and death.
Red beads can be fashioned from a number of natural materials including clay, stones such as red carnelian, agate, bauxite, and garnet as well as bone and coral. Red Glass Beads have also been made to imitate the red color of natural materials. For example, the Ateyun bead in Nigeria is made to resemble red Mediterranean coral. This is because genuine coral was highly valued but also very rare and expensive.
Red pigmentation in glass beads can be achieved in a number of ways but typically includes the use of minerals and metal oxides. Some of the metals that have been used to color glass red include gold chloride and selenium oxide. It is said that some of the older antique Venetian glass jewelry were actually colored by dissolving gold into the glass.
Today, a number of red trade beads are found in Africa. These include Red Padre Beads, Kakamba Beads, Colodante Beads, Red Vaseline Beads, Tomato Beads, Dogon Beads, Skunk Eye Beads, and the Red White Heart and Green White Heart that derive their names from a white glass core. Additionally, red Recycled Beads are made both from Recycled Glass as well as old Phonograph Records.
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