The small blue glass beads are nila beads excavated from the area around Djenne in Mali, Africa. "Nila" usually refers to small deep-blue glass beads found in archaeological and trade contexts and are most commonly considered part of the broader category of Indo-Pacific trade beads.
The word "nila" comes from Sanskrit and several South Asian languages, where it generally means “blue” or “dark blue/indigo.” In bead studies, it’s often used descriptively rather than as a strict formal bead type.
These beads are commonly associated with Indo-Pacific bead production centers (India, especially coastal workshops). They were traded from roughly 2,000 years ago through the colonial period via
exchange networks reaching East Africa, the Middle East, and sometimes the Americas in later periods.
Strung with modern quartz crystal and gold-filled beads. Length: 16 1/2".