I believe sellers such as the one with this offering of wood beads are trying to reach a certain audience, namely, the buyers who search the term "trade beads". Since "trade bead" is neither a scientific term nor an eBay-defined category, I don't have any problem with people using it loosely.

The seller has put these beads in the Collectibles - Beads - 1800 to 1950 category. I think this is a proper use of the eBay categories if the beads are in fact pre-1950.

But getting back to the term "trade bead". In my humble opinion, this term has "mostly" passed into popular usage as shorthand for "African trade bead", meaning glass (and some stone) beads made in Europe for trade into Africa, from roughly 1500 - 1950. However, the term also seems to be used for European beads traded to North & South America, and other parts of the world as well, although I have never heard anyone say "Chinese trade beads" and mean European beads sold into China. Possibly this is because the Chinese also made glass beads during the centuries that the Europeans were making glass beads, so it would be confusing to use the term for China.

Additionally, people seem to refer to pre-1950 beads made in Africa, such as the wide variety of metal, shell, wood, bone, etc. as well as glass beads like Bodom and kiffa, as trade beads. The emphasis on the term trade beads being linked with Africa is also seen in the use of the term for newly made beads originating from the African continent.

I think the emphasis on Africa when applying the term trade bead is based on the idea that I've seen quoted quite often, namely that the Africans (in general) used beads for money. This is not a concept I've seen advanced for other cultures around the world to any extent. Stories such as the island of Manhattan being traded for beads is another anecdote related to trade beads originating from Europe and being used for barter. It is interesting that "trade" has become so intricately connected to "bead". If the colonial era travelers had swapped pots or fabric to the New World or African residents, would we refer to them as "trade pots" or "trade fabrics"? One is left with the impression that a very large amount of trade was carried on with beads, but there again, I don't know the ratio of beads traded vs. other goods traded.

Also, I don't normally see the term applied to new beads from other parts of the world, for example, the brightly colored ceramic beads from Peru are not referred to as "Peruvian trade beads".

Global trading, in beads and other commodities, of course was going on long before 1500. Beads made in the Levant and Egypt were traded to other parts of Africa, Europe, Middle East, and beyond as one example. Beads made in India traveled extensively as well. Wasn't there a report a while back that beads dated before the Common Era were found in the mid-west of the United States? I have seen all such beads referred to as trade beads, although not as frequently or as exhaustively as beads associated with Africa.

So my conclusions are that the term "trade bead" is being used primarily for the following general categories of beads:

1) European-made beads traded around the world during the hey-day of European bead production of about 1500- 1950.

2) Beads traded to or made in Africa, of any age and from any material or source.

3) "Old beads" that are generally thought of as "collectible", including beads much older than 1500 that are assumed to have "traveled" and therefore were used for global trade.

These are just some ruminations for a Wednesday morning - and are observations, not an attempt to "enforce" anything concerning bead terminology - so hopefully more forumites will jump in and discuss further. And I hope people do not feel that they are afraid to post for fear of being "attacked". Just another hopeful observation on a sunny (and way too dry) California morning.

I am not someone who really enjoys discussions about definitions, but I'll jump in too.
The emphasis on Africa suprises me. I thought that at least the Americas, but also Asia would be included in the definition.
Could it be that because most trade beads 'come back' to us through African dealers, that we are geared towards thinking that trade beads are 'made for Africa'.
I am guessing that it is also about quantity, but still.....

Also, about the use of beads as money. From what I understood, beads were used for bartering and trading, but not as such substituted money. There are some specific exceptions to this, but I think most countries at the time of the heyday of the trade in beads (1880-1930, I think) had some type of currency? Mostly from the nations that colonized them?
From an article by Peter Francis, I also understood that the Manhattan story of it being traded for beads is also somewhat of a myth. Which is a shame, because it is such a cool story...... ;-)

He would probably share a copy with you. I cannot put my hands on my copy at this moment.

Trade beads (sometimes called slave beads) were otherwise decorative glass beads used between the 16th and 20th century as a currency to exchange for goods, services and slaves (hence the name). Made to ease the passage of European explorers and then traders mainly across the African continents, the beads were made throughout Europe although the Venetians dominated production. Trade beads are also found in the United States and Canada, and throughout Latin America. The production of slave (trade) beads became so popular that literally tons of these beads were used for this purpose. Beads were used as ballast in slave/trade ships for the outbound trip. The beads and other trade items were exchanged for human cargo as well as ivory, gold and other goods desired in Europe and around the world. The beads traded were not of a set design, but were produced according to demand. Millefiori (thousand flower) beads from Venice, Italy were one of the most commonly traded beads, and are commonly known as "African trade beads." They were produced by creating flowers or stripes from glass canes, that were then cut and moulded onto a core of solid color. Beads such as the kiffa beads of Mauritania are thought to have resulted from women creating powdered glass beads to mimic the appearance of millefiori beads.

The success of this form of currency can largely be attributed to the high intrinsic value African people put upon decorative items. Africans often used beads for currency, (often referred to as african money) and wealth storage, and social status could be easily determined by the quality, quantity and style of jewellery worn. This created a high demand for trade beads in Africa.