The first time I saw these, in a teetering curio shop in Stone Town, they spoke to me. These beads are very old, and were used as trade currency. I feel a lot in them because they served as the means for exchange and were therefore carried next to someone’s person, and then passed hand to hand. The colors in them are extraordinary. The beads are rare; I’ve never seen any like this anywhere else. The owner of the shop gets them from the tribal people who live on the Tanzanian mainland. I like to leave them in a little dish so that I can look at them.

Material: Glass

Origin: Zanzibar