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DECORATIVE ARTS, JEWELRY, CERAMICS, GLASS, TEXTILES

PUBLISHER
Steinberg

BOOK FORMAT
Hardcover, 9.75 x 11.25 in. / 216 pgs / 180 color.

PUBLISHING STATUS
Pub Date
Active

DISTRIBUTION
D.A.P. Exclusive
Catalog: FALL 2019 p. 179   

PRODUCT DETAILS
ISBN 9780692907108 TRADE
List Price: $55.00 CAD $75.00 GBP £50.00

AVAILABILITY
Out of stock

TERRITORY
WORLD

THE FALL 2025 ARTBOOK | D.A.P. CATALOG

Artbook | D.A.P. Catalog Cover Link
Preview our FALL 2025 catalog, featuring more than 500 new books on art, photography, design, architecture, film, music and visual culture.
  

STEINBERG

Wild Beads of Africa

Old Powderglass Beads from the Collection of Billy Steinberg

Edited by Billy Steinberg. Text by Jamey D. Allen.

Wild Beads of Africa

These rare and mysterious beads, made in Ghana and used by the Krobo and Ashanti peoples, are regarded as magical and are worn proudly as a symbol of prestige and wealth.

This is the first book dedicated to African powderglass beads, with over 180 photographs of gorgeous pieces from a collection assembled by songwriter Billy Steinberg (co-writer of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”).

Most of the pieces showcased in this handsomely designed volume are West African beads often referred to as Bodom or Akoso, and were made by Ashanti and Ewe people in Ghana and Togo during the 19th century using finely ground glass sourced from broken bottles, windows or other beads, creating brightly colorful pieces in shiny colors with a handmade textural quality.

Highly detailed photography by Fredrik Nilsen provides a comprehensive look at the collection, along with texts by scholar Jamey D. Allen about the history, classification and glassmaking technologies employed in the varieties of beads covered in the book. A glossary provided by Allen also makes this a useful reference title.


Featured image is reproduced from 'Wild Beads of Africa.'

Wild Beads of Africa

STATUS: Out of stock

Temporarily out of stock pending additional inventory.

FROM THE ARTBOOK BLOG

CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 8/12/2019

Magic, protection and undeniable beauty in "Wild Beads of Africa"

Magic, protection and undeniable beauty in "Wild Beads of Africa"

Featured image is reproduced from Wild Beads of Africa, a book unlike any other on our list, and a staff favorite at the SHOPPE OBJECT 3.0 Home & Gift Show closing today in New York. Presenting the astonishing old powderglass bead collection of songwriter Billy Steinberg, it is the first book dedicated to the nineteenth-century beads made by the Ashanti and Ewe people of Ghana and Togo from finely-ground, recycled glass. In West Africa, they are regarded as magical, according to essayists John and Ruth Picard, and “worn proudly as a symbol of prestige and wealth. Their protective powers are well known, somewhat equivalent to the dZi beads of Tibet.” continue to blog


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