|
 Batik Bone Beads are predominantly produced in Ghana and Kenya today, however the process itself is said to date back to 4th Century B.C.E Egypt. Originally batik was a method of applying patterns to cloth using wax and natural dyes. This process was adopted by African tribes to apply designs to beads and accessories – often symbolic of social status.
Generally the colors of African batik beads are brown and white with the designs ranging from bold to inticate. Traditionally, batik bone beads were made from the bones of agricultural animals like cows or camels, and this remains true today. Originally bones were allowed to darken with age prior to the designs being applied. Today bones are bleached using a simple dye and heat process that speeds up the production process and softens the bone making it less resistant to the dye. When the bone is boiled it soften it slightly, making it more absorbent for dyeing, and more adhesive to waxing. Designs have then always been carved into the bones, originally using a stone and today using a sharp implement like a craft knife.
 Exceptionally skilled craftsmen would createthe dyed designs using the wax-resistance process by painting on clear beeswax in swirl or circular motifs..
Beeswax is vital to the batik dyeing process. Beeswax is applied hot to the bone beads and allowed to dry briefly. As the hot wax sinks into the bone, it coats the bead with a laquer finish that dye can not penetrate. Batik dyes have generally been developed using natural resources such as tree bark, sap and plant extract. Compared to the batik cloth-dyeing method, batik bone beads required little in the way of preparation prior to the dyeing process.
Darker blue/ black dyes are created using flowers from indigo plants.
Brown dyes are created from barks. The length of time bone beads remain soaking in a dye depends on the effect to be achieved. Starkly contrasting colors of brown-black and pure white are achieved by leaving the bone beads to “soak” for an extended period of time in the dye. The multi-tonal. chestnut brown colored batik bone beads are achieved by applying a thinner wax coating to the bead prior to dyeing.
Bone beads also tend to be extremely polished – a process completed prior to, and post-dyeing.
|
