Barbara Adner and Andrea Bergart are artists, travelers and bead lovers. Independently, they acquire beads from different regions of the world. Andrea specializes in rare and contemporary African beads, while Barbara’s expertise is old Murano and vintage Czech glass beads. In 2008, the two women merged their collections creating Adner-Bergart to design unique necklaces that express the historic tradition of the African-Venetian connection. Each necklace is an artistic creation by women of different generations and artistic backgrounds.
Under a Fulbright scholarship, in 2008-2009, Andrea lived in Ghana and researched the African bead trade. She interviewed bead traders, wearers and sellers and learned the cultural and economic significances of each bead. She lived in a bead making village in Eastern Ghana, attended the largest bead markets in West Africa, followed ancient bead trading routes across seven African countries and participated in traditional bead wearing ceremonies in Krobo Odumase. With each adventure, she was able to find rare and unusual beads. Her collection consists of 100-year-old African trade beads such as bodum and kings beads, contemporary recycled glass beads, batik bone, bauxite stone, Ashanti brass, terracotta, and new and old Mali wedding beads.
Barbara travels to Venice regularly to purchase beads from a private collection housed in the first story of a Palazzo, facing a picturesque canal. The collection belongs to a relative whose mother made necklaces for the trade in Venice from the 1950s to the 1970s. The collection includes glass beads from many European countries and date early 1900 – 1970.
Under a Fulbright scholarship, in 2008-2009, Andrea lived in Ghana and researched the African bead trade. She interviewed bead traders, wearers and sellers and learned the cultural and economic significances of each bead. She lived in a bead making village in Eastern Ghana, attended the largest bead markets in West Africa, followed ancient bead trading routes across seven African countries and participated in traditional bead wearing ceremonies in Krobo Odumase. With each adventure, she was able to find rare and unusual beads. Her collection consists of 100-year-old African trade beads such as bodum and kings beads, contemporary recycled glass beads, batik bone, bauxite stone, Ashanti brass, terracotta, and new and old Mali wedding beads.
Barbara travels to Venice regularly to purchase beads from a private collection housed in the first story of a Palazzo, facing a picturesque canal. The collection belongs to a relative whose mother made necklaces for the trade in Venice from the 1950s to the 1970s. The collection includes glass beads from many European countries and date early 1900 – 1970.
