Also called azagba, zagba, or adjaba, these large powder glass beads are made by the Krobo people of Ghana. Usually formed in clay molds, the beads measure up to 5 cm long and range from nearly cylindrical to barrel shaped, and sometimes biconical. Adjagba typically have a yellow or ochre matrix with a grainy texture, which is decorated with longitudinal stripes, often twisted into spirals, in black, blue, green, brown, or red. Occasionally the beads are further embellished with spots, circles, or equatorial bands. The designs are made by funneling contrasting colors of powdered glass into the mold or inserting pre-formed glass elements.
Adjagba beads—especially older ones—are treasured by the Krobo and worn on important occasions, such as the Dipo ceremony. Then girls reaching marriageable age are adorned with the family’s finest beads to celebrate their puberty.
When Krobo beadmakers created adjagba they may have been inspired by the colorful striped glass beads from Venice that flooded the African market in the 19th century. But could it be the other way around? The entrepreneurial Venetians were masters at designing beads to appeal to the traditional tastes of their customers.