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| Welcome to Africa Infinite an excellent source for the discerning collector interested in Africian and Ethiopian art and antiques. Offering you an intriquing selection of ancient and antique trade beads, Ethiopian Coptic Christian cultural items and fine
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1 Antique Yoruba Royal Oba Beaded Tunic Vest Shirt, Nigeria Africa
This is a very rare, huge & heavy antique beaded Oba's (king's) tunic which was to be worn only by a Yoruba King who could traced his direct lineage to one of the sixteen sons of Oduduwa who was the first Yoruba Oba - king. This hand woven and beaded tunic is a huge garment, extraordinarily heavy and hand beaded on both sides with thousands of tiny glass seed beads which make up detailed and fine designs. These antique pieces were made for a specific Oba and all the work was done by men. The beaded 3D face patterns pictured here on this antique vest shirt show facial scarification and are to honor Oduduwa and also represent the royal ancestors who are said to watch over and protect the royal lineage. This Yoruba beaded shirt has an inner cloth lining which is handwoven Aso Oke fabric. This beaded King's garment measures 42 inches long and 25 inches wide and weighs 16 pounds on it's own! This beaded King's Tunic is priced here without the custom made display stand which makes displying this piece just amazing. If you are interested in buying the display stand to accompany this museum quality piece please contact me for pricing and to add the custom stand to your order.
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HUGE! Decorated Antique Polychrome Kiffa Round Eye Bead Mauritania, Africa
Antique Rare Kiffa Powder Glass bead collected from the African trade. This bead is a very huge roundish shaped bead specimen with amazing multiple colored surface decorations. Huge rare specimen in great condition.
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Chokwe / Mbunda Made Antique Pwo / Pwevo Initiation Helmet Mask, Zambia
Extremley rare, authentic, antique, African Pwevo or sometimes called Pwo mask carved by the Mbunda who are a Chokwe related tribal peoples. This rare, African art, carved, wooden, Pwevo mask was collected from Zambia, Africa and represents one of the most important makishi characters which is danced during the completion of the Mukanda male initiation ceremonies. This Chokwe Pwevo Helmet mask is worn covering the entire head and is part of an elobrate full body dance costume that is made of netted plant fiber that usually includes wooden breasts. Although Pwevo represents a female ancestor whom many consider the mother of the Chokwe and related peoples, who is a female role model, the Pwevo masks and Pwevo costumes are always created, worn and danced by men. The dance imitates the graceful movements of a woman and it imparts fertility to all present. This museum worthy piece is very old and is carved from a very lightweight soft wood called dugale which can no longer be found after the drought of 1962 which attests to this mask's age. This antique Chokwe piece is a highly stylized mask with an elaborate dread like coiffure, dark patina with many layers, scarification descending from the forehead to nose and a trio of short parallel dotted scarification lines called mupila adorn the outer side of each eye with three additional deep scars under the eyes and beautiful scarification designs on the checks and a dotted cross on the chin. Fiber netting extension is attached to the mask to cover the dancer's neck area which does have some slight damage. This collectiable authentic piece of African art comes with a custom hand made black wire stand which was designed just for this item and displays this mask handsomely. This Pwevo mask measures 11.5 inches tall not including the netting or stand and 12 inches wide.
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Prime Antique GREEN Venetian Seven Layer Chevron Bead Large!
Very Rare, Large antique Venetian green seven layer chevron drawn bead collected from Africa. This very rare green seven layer chevron bead specimen is in excellent condition and would be the pinnacle of any bead lover's collection. This beauty measures 1.23 inches long by 0.94 inches wide and has nice end facets. AMAZING!
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Rare Multicolored Folded Ancient Polychrome Bead
The ruins of an ancient trading center the settlement of D'jenne-D'jeno or sometimes spelled Jenne-Jeno and the surrounding Niger River Basin is the main source of most Islamic and medieval ancient beads excavated in Africa. D'jenne dates back to 250 BC and is one of the oldest trading centers along the Saharan caravan routes which where a vital crossroads for the gold and salt trade. The ancient beads found in this area were made elsewhere and were imported along these ancient trade routes to D'jenne and other destinations. Even today the exact origins of these beads remain unclear and this topic fuels many a debate among bead collectors and bead researches alike. These ancient beads can date from 500 years old to around two thousands years old and are sometimes called dig beads.
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