The Timeless Cowrie
Its Significance the World Over
Anita von Kahler Gumpert
Research, Charity Jackson
32pp; 8.5 x 8.5; full color; photographs.
Publisher Bead Museum, Washington, DC
and the Bead Society of Greater Washington
ISBN 978-0-9725066-3-2
Across continents the cowrie shell is an object of art, myth, and magic. It is an indicator of wealth and status. It is decoration and adornment. It was a medium of exchange in the Slave Trade. The role of cowries throughout the world punctuates world history from pre-history and Bronze Age China, to remote isolated cultures, to the merchants and politicians of Europe and the Americas. Its story continues today.
Author Anita von Kahler, a native of Prague, Czechoslovakia, and a retired foreign correspondent, began her career as a reporter for the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse in London during World War II. From 1950 until her retirement, she was in charge of Inter American Affairs for Agence France-Presse in Washington, D.C. She currently resides in Washington, with her husband, the noted painter Gunther Gumpert.
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