Antique Toucouleur Tukulor gilt silver bead, KORWAL, Museum Piece, Or du Pays

Description

Antique Toucouleur, Tukulor, gilt silver bead, KORWAL ;  from West Africa. From the late 1800s to erly 1900s
MUSEUM PIECE, absolutely unique
Similar jewelry is exposed in the National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institute.
The BEAD  is made of low carat gold and silver, a form of gold which is called "or du pays" in Senegal (urussu Ndar).
All the pieces I am selling are part of my collection. The necklaces and bracelets were bought in Tilene Market, Dakar, Senegal, in the 1980s.  They were   supposed to be melted to extract gold and silver for new designs .
Loose beads I found/bought at the time can be seen in my own designs!
The Toucouleur people, also called Tukulor or Haalpulaar, are a West African ethnic group native to Futa Tooro region of Senegal. There are smaller communities in Mali and Mauritania. The Toucouleur were Islamized in the 11th century; their early and strong Islamic heritage, which is seen as a defining feature, is a "matter of great pride for them". They have been influential in the spread of Islam to West Africa in the medieval era, later founded the vast Toucouleur Empire in the 19th century under El Hadj Umar Tall that led a religious war against their neighboring ethnic groups and the French colonial forces.
They speak the Pulaar language, and are distinct from but related to the Fula, Wolof and Serer people. The Toucouleur are traditionally sedentary, settled primarily in the Senegal River valley, with farming, fishing and raising cattle as their main activities. The Toucouleur society has been patrilineal, polygynous and with high social stratification that included slavery and caste system. There are an estimated 1 million Toucouleur people in West Africa.
more photos are available on request!
Payment: Paypal
Worldwide shipping with signed for delivery and tracking
Please look at my other auctions and visit my Ebay
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Not all listing have a best offer button but I am always ready to discuss an item. Do not hesitate to contact me.
As I have had several cases of unpaid items recently I would lke to point out that
PAYMENT IS TO BE MADE WITHIN  4 DAYS OF AUCTION  END !
Unpaid item cases will be opened thereafter!
Please bear in mind that the majority of the beads and ethnic elements I use are OLD or ANTIQUE , even ANCIENT! The show wear and age. I usually mention any defaults in my descriptions but I can overlook a minuscule old chip or dent . As this has happened recently and resulted in a severe dispute with the buyer I want to point out again that I do not use NEW  material (except if stated) and that ethnic elements,  old jewelry parts, etc. might have very minor defaults NOT specially mentioned in the description. I do not accept this as a reason for  a return claiming that the item does not correspond to the description
Do please contact me prior to buying if you have any questions or would like to have more detailed photos and/or macro shots of selected beads
Shipping to Austria and Germany:
Please wait for corrected invoice! shipping costs will be converted at the daily rate
shipping Germany € 9.90 , tracked parcel
shipping Austria € 4,50
Payment from  Euro countries can also be made through  IBAN and BIC codes
European clients please wait for invoice with corrected shipping charges !
PLEASE NOTE:
I am selling from the pictures. Due to difficulties with Austrian Customs  I cannot accept returns from non EU countries.  I have had several cases where I was obliged to pay customs for a return of my own design.
I have tried to describe my designs as clearly and accurate as possible to avoid any disputes. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to ask..