The Afghan Beadwork You Know May Be Disappearing

Why is it getting harder to find Afghan beadwork and medallions? There are several answers, none of them good.

For as long as the Red Camel has been in business, there has been a ready supply of Afghan beadwork and bead medallions (also known as Kuchi medallions, tikka medallions or simply Kuchi patches) available. These inexpensive decorative items have been used in costuming for decades, either as vintage pieces rescued from old clothing or other items, or newly hand made by women in Afghanistan to supplement household incomes.

Colorful and available in various sizes and shapes, they have always been easy to find and often come in pairs - a convenient package deal when making belly dance costume belts and accessories. This may be about to change.

Over the last several years, the supply of these staple decorative items has slowed to a trickle. The last six months has seen that trickle almost completely stopped and my last several shipments have contained NONE at all.

I have heard many explanations for this, and some of them are a bit outlandish. Sometimes dealers and others will pass on information that is not quite correct for their own purposes. But I will share what seem to me to be the most likely explanations.

The first reason and one that seems to me at least possible, is that the Taliban has imposed a ban on export of these items. One explanation is that they are pieces of Afghan heritage that should remain in the country and not be sold to others. But I have to wonder if this might also be an excuse for taking income away from women (the primary creators of beadwork) who already have limited resources. I have also recently been told there is now a strict border policy in place to prevent export of beadwork.

Another and quite likely explanation is that instead of, or perhaps in addition to, the ban on export, Afghan suppliers and traders in these pieces have greatly raised their prices and dealers now are finding that it is no longer profitable to purchase these items or offer them to vendors for resale.

Lastly, and this is simply one of my own thoughts on this, beadwork is one of the “old arts” like embroidery or older jewelry techniques. These skills are being lost at a slow but noticeable rate. As younger generations lose their interest or haven’t the time to learn these skills, beadwork may be falling by the wayside and this may be contributing to the shortage.

My original thoughts were that this was a temporary problem (much like the great coin shortage of … 2018?) that would be resolved quickly. But it’s already been a year or more and there doesn’t seem to be an improvement in availability. Much to the contrary. First pairs disappeared, then larger medallions. There are fewer and smaller pieces showing up in the markets. So what happens now? What if the supply totally dries up or beadwork isn’t available at all? What if prices become so high medallions are unaffordable as pieces for costuming? While we wait for an outcome on this, here are some ideas that might be helpful:

First, reuse the pieces that you have on hand. Take them from one costume piece and use them on another. Make their attachment and removal easier by using Velcro or other temporary means. The original creators intended them to be reused multiple times, so why not?

Second, when you see some that you like for sale, especially at a reasonable price, buy them. Even if you don’t have an immediate need, keeping some on hand is always a great idea.

Next, consider making your own or purchasing pieces that are made locally. Seed beads are fairly inexpensive and beading and other small bits can be used to make interesting and lovely decorative pieces. If anyone can fill a costuming void, creative dancers can!

The great thing about costuming is that it is always changing. As tribal components, bead medallions have been well loved over the years, and it’s easy to see why. The old beading designs from Afghanistan are based on mathematics and are quite beautiful, in amazing color combinations and intricate patterns. They were, and are, wonderful pieces - not only for dance costuming but simply because Afghan beadwork is some of the finest, most interesting beadwork in the world. But everyone likes something new and different. Perhaps it’s time to retire the bead medallion and move on to other designs that use different kinds of decorative components.