San Necklace

 This carefully hand crafted ostrich egg shell necklace was made by one of the ladies in the Tsodilo Hills, Botswana San family.

The empty eggshells are broken into the size desired by the artisan, who shapes each bead individually. The rough pieces of shell are drilled one by one using a sharpened piece of wire or nail. The small beads are strung together and filed on a whetstone or otherwise sanded into a uniform disk.

Many hours of work goes into each necklace and the necklace makers can be found gathered together in the shade of a tree working on their projects while catching up on the day’s  events.

Occasionally, a male member of the community will produce a necklace, however it is most often the ladies occupation.

Measures 20" end to end