Up for sale here are beads made in Europe for the trade market. Lovely, satin matte finish that comes with age and much handling. Beautiful very old beads, with great patina and wear which I have tried to show in the photos. It is to be expected with circulated beads of their age.

These are Russian Blue beads and ponu beads in white and blue. The Russian blues were made from the 1700s in the Czech Republic, at the time known as Bohemia, for transportation to Russia. They were then used in international trade between Russia and Alaska, where they were exchanged for commodities with the indigenous population. These beads gained a wider circulation as they became popular with the Canadian and American indigenous populations, who favoured sky coloured beads and valued them for their colour and the skill of their manufacture. They were supplied via Hudson Bay to the wider Americas.

The pony beads are also associated with the Hudson Bay trading post and there is much information about their fascinating history on the internet.

Please view the photos which been taken under high magnification to show the full condition of the item.

I am an experienced seller of antique and vintage jewellery. As an art history graduate specialising in sentimental antique jewellery with cultural importance, and with goldsmithing training, I have been trained to assess the quality and fineness of precious metal items.

Please see the photos; they form part of the description and show the size in centimetres or millimetres and the weight in grams where weighed.

Please bid with confidence and view my feedback, where you will see that I have received positives for other valuable items of this age and older, and have sent antique jewellery all over the world with no problem.

Items will be securely packed and sent swiftly by a trackable service. In the unlikely event that my description does not meet your expectations, I am happy to accept returns provided that items are returned in the same condition as I sent them and are sent via a trackable service, at the purchaser's expense.

If you have any queries, please do get in touch. Thanks for looking!