A small, focused selection of antique necklaces built around Venetian glass trade beads paired with Akan lost-wax cast brass elements from Ghana, West Africa. Each piece pairs antique trade beads with a different brass focal element: a figurative goldweight pendant, a hand-cast bell, or a brass bracelet assembled alongside the strand. Some of these pieces also includes early 20th-century phenolic resin (Bakelite/Catalin) beads of the type widely circulated through West African trade routes.
This collection sits as an ethnographic adornment sub-silo of the wider African tribal art programme.
Worldwide shipping from the Netherlands. Private viewings by appointment.
Antique African trade bead necklaces, neckpieces, collars, torc-like adornments and related wearable neck ornaments, including Venetian glass trade beads paired with Akan lost-wax cast brass elements from Ghana — goldweights, bells, bracelets and other focal pieces — assembled within the West African economy where these material traditions met. Each piece is offered as a single, individually researched object with documented Egon Guenther provenance, not as generic wholesale beadwork.
About this collectionWhat this neck adornment collection covers
This collection covers antique and ethnographic neck adornment, including necklaces, collars, torc-like forms, bead strands and related pieces worn around the neck. The selection is centred on West African material culture, especially antique Venetian glass trade beads, Akan cast brass elements, millefiori beads, phenolic resin beads and related adornment forms with documented provenance.
InventoryExamples from the current selection
The collection includes a broader range of neck adornment than a small group of necklaces. Examples may include trade bead necklaces, millefiori strands, Akan brass pendant pieces, bell pendants, collar-like forms, torc-like adornments and related ethnographic neck ornaments. Each object is catalogued individually rather than treated as a near-duplicate of another.
Venetian trade bead necklaces with Akan goldweight pendants. Antique Venetian glass trade beads may be paired with Akan lost-wax cast brass goldweights as central pendants. These pendants often carry spiralled, geometric or figurative iconography typical of Akan goldweight production from the 19th century onward.
Venetian trade bead necklaces with Akan lost-wax brass bell pendants. Some strands use hand-cast Akan brass bells as focal elements. Bells of this type carry both functional and symbolic associations within Akan court, household and personal adornment contexts.
Millefiori and phenolic resin bead neckpieces. The collection may include composed strands combining lampworked Venetian millefiori glass beads with butterscotch-tone phenolic resin beads of the type that entered West African trade routes from the 1920s onward.
Collars, torc-like forms and related neck ornaments. Where present, these are catalogued as neck adornment rather than ordinary jewellery, with attention to material, region, construction, use and provenance.
Pieces in this collection carry the Egon Guenther → Thomas Guenther provenance line where stated in the individual catalogue entry.
ContextWhy Venetian glass and Akan brass appear together
The pairing is not simply a contemporary design choice. Venetian glass beads and Akan cast brass circulated through the same West African trade economy for several centuries, and assemblages combining the two are part of the documented historical record of West African adornment.
Venice and Murano were dominant European producers of glass trade beads from the 16th century into the early 20th century. The beads were exported in vast quantities into West and Central Africa, where they functioned as currency, status objects and ceremonial adornment alongside locally produced material. The Akan peoples of present-day Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire developed a refined lost-wax (cire perdue) brass-casting tradition in the same period, producing figurative goldweights (mrammuo) used in the gold trade, miniature bells, bracelets, pendants and other small cast objects. The two material traditions met in the same regional economy.
These were not designed simply as modern jewellery. They are objects of West African material culture as they actually circulated, were worn, collected and reassembled.
Materials · Venetian GlassThe antique trade beads on these pieces
Many pieces in this collection use antique Venetian glass trade beads, including lampworked rounds, oblates, tabulars, oval beads, millefiori beads and various wound and overlaid forms. Most date from the 19th to early 20th century, the export peak for Venetian production into West Africa.
The beads are often wound rather than drawn. Internal swirl marks may follow the direction the molten glass was wound around the mandrel.
Antique Venetian glass often carries small bubbles, seed inclusions and subtle batch-to-batch colour variation. Excessive uniformity can be a warning sign for modern reproduction.
Bores are often softened by decades of stringing and wear. A 19th-century bead with a sharp, fresh-looking bore needs explanation.
Cane detail on millefiori beads should be deliberate and well-registered. Worn, blurred or knocked-off canes are condition issues rather than automatic authenticity problems.
Materials · Akan BrassGoldweights, bells, bracelets and focal elements
Akan brass elements are an important feature of many pieces in this collection. These may include goldweights, bells, bracelets, pendants and related lost-wax cast objects used as focal elements or companion pieces.
Akan goldweight (mrammuo). Originally used to weigh gold dust during the Akan gold trade in present-day Ghana. Figurative and geometric weights carry a vocabulary of proverbs, animals and abstract motifs.
Akan lost-wax cast brass bell. Hand-cast individually using the lost-wax method, where a wax model is invested in clay, melted out, and replaced by molten brass. No two examples are identical.
Akan lost-wax cast brass bracelet or companion element. Some neckpieces may be offered with related brass adornment from the same provenance line, creating a small suite of beadwork and brass.
Materials · Phenolic ResinBakelite, Catalin and the so-called "African amber"
Some pieces may incorporate butterscotch-tone phenolic resin beads, typically classed under the trade names Bakelite and Catalin. These are early 20th-century synthetic materials — not amber, despite the West African market term "African amber" — that entered the same trade routes as Venetian glass from the 1920s onward and were widely worn in West Africa as part of layered necklace assemblages.
ProvenanceThe Egon Guenther line and why it matters here
Pieces in this collection come from the Egon Guenther Collection in Johannesburg, passed by family descent to Thomas Guenther, where stated in the individual catalogue entry.
Egon Guenther (1921–2015) was a Mannheim-born goldsmith who emigrated to South Africa in 1951 and opened the Egon Guenther Gallery in Johannesburg in 1957. He was a long-term champion of historical African art under apartheid and the founding gallerist of the Amadlozi Group in 1963. His private collection ran in parallel with the gallery for more than half a century.
AuthenticationHow to read an antique trade bead neckpiece
Read
What to check
The pieces in this collection
The beads
Antique Venetian glass with wound construction, swirl marks, bubbles, soft bore edges and honest wear — versus modern reproduction or contemporary commercial beads.
Antique Venetian glass, millefiori and related trade beads where stated.
The brass
Hand-cast lost-wax pieces with original casting surface, slight irregularities and individual character — versus pressed or moulded modern reproduction.
Akan brass goldweights, bells, bracelets and related elements where present.
The assembly
Historically coherent combinations of West African brass and traded bead materials.
Each piece is assessed individually for coherence, age and construction.
The provenance
Documented chain of ownership in named collections.
Egon Guenther → Thomas Guenther where stated.
CareCondition, restringing and ongoing handling
These are antique and ethnographic objects that may have been worn, handled, restrung or reassembled over time. Honest age-related wear is expected and is not a fault. Where pieces have been restrung on modern cord for safe handling and wear, the beads themselves remain the original material; the cord and clasp may be recent.
Brass elements develop their character through patina. Avoid polishing unless advised.
Glass is brittle; do not drop on hard surfaces. Clean with a damp soft cloth only.
Phenolic resin beads should be kept away from solvents, high heat and strong sunlight.
Store flat where possible, ideally in a padded box or partitioned tray.
BuyingHow pieces are documented and sold
Every neckpiece is researched and described using the best available information on bead type, glass construction, brass casting method, approximate period, regional context and provenance. Where an attribution is uncertain, it is stated plainly rather than overclaimed. Condition is documented in detail and photographed at close range. Private viewings are available in the Netherlands by appointment, and worldwide shipping is arranged on request.
Buying from Esteemed Antiques
Request a private viewing or detail images
Worldwide shipping from the Netherlands. Private viewings by appointment. Detail photography, length, weight and close-ups available on request before purchase.
FAQFrequently asked questions about these neckpieces
What kind of pieces are in this collection?
This collection includes antique African trade bead necklaces, neckpieces, collars, torc-like adornments and related wearable neck ornaments, often incorporating Venetian glass trade beads and Akan lost-wax cast brass elements from Ghana.
Are the beads on these pieces really antique?
Where described as antique, the Venetian glass trade beads date largely from the 19th to early 20th century. Phenolic resin beads, where present, are usually vintage rather than antique and are described accordingly.
What is an Akan goldweight and why is it used as a pendant?
An Akan goldweight is a small lost-wax cast brass weight originally used to weigh gold dust during the Akan gold trade. As a pendant, it brings a meaningful brass object into a bead strand or neckpiece.
Are these pieces wearable?
Many are wearable, but they should be handled as antique objects. Where pieces have been restrung for safe handling, the beads or brass elements remain the original material, while the cord or clasp may be recent.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes. Esteemed Antiques ships worldwide from the Netherlands. Glass, brass and assembled neckpieces are packed carefully to prevent abrasion and impact damage in transit.
