This Chevron is 2 ½” x 1 ¾”, the body is blue and the chevrons of white red and blue are on either end.  This Chevron comes in a hand laced elk pouch that was made by Native Americans.

Chevron beads are special glass beads, the first specimens of this type were created by glass bead makers in Venice and Murano, Italy, towards the end of the 14th century.  Chevron beads can be composed of a varied number of consecutive layers of colored beads.

Most of the Venetian chevron beads made for export to West Africa and to the Americas have layers in red, blue, and white. A smaller number of chevron beads were produced in other colors such as green, black and yellow. Venetian chevron beads have been traded throughout the world, most heavily in West Africa, where they were first introduced by Dutch merchants in the late 15th century. Certain very small sized 7 layer Venetian chevron beads, also made during the late 15th century, are found exclusively in the Americas, mainly in Peru, and attributed to having been introduced byChristopher Columbus. Chevron beads are very popular collectors' items and they are still highly valued in present day West Africa, where they continue to be worn for prestige and ceremonial purposes, and occasionally buried with the dead. Chevron and rosetta/star beads are now also being manufactured in India and China.