Komboloi, horn beads, hand-strung

Name: Komboloi, horn beads, hand-strung
Brand: PINAX
SKU: PX-KOM-HOR
Price: 45.00 EUR
Availability: OutOfStock

Κομπολόι από κέρατο

A komboloi of horn beads, strung by hand in the Nafplio tradition. No coral, and nothing sold as ‘new faturan’.

Price when it opens €45.00

Being verified

Not for sale yet. The record below is public, but the supplier is not signed and documented. If we cannot prove it, we do not sell it.

Includes 24% Greek VAT.

Ships to Greece: €3.90, 1 to 3 working days. Shipping and duties

Origin record πίναξ

Where: Nafplio tradition, Argolis, Peloponnese, GR-J
How: Beads worked and strung by hand
Protected: No protected status. Origin based on supplier audit.
Maker: [partner to be sourced]
Fake test: Genuine faturan stopped being made in the 1940s, so any new faturan is a warning sign. Horn is not coral: refuse coral strands without CITES paperwork. Source: en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab) Field Note: The amber float test, and why not mastiha

Full record

Material: Horn beads, cord
Coordinates: Not recorded
VAT class: 24% standard rate
Ships to: Ships to Greece. Open zones: Greece, European Union, US and Canada.Light and sturdy. Greece, EU, US and Canada; horn rules checked per country. No Australia until a BICON check. UK after our UK VAT registration.
Compliance: No coral (possible CITES). Horn import rules checked per destination.
Sources: komboloi.gr/indexe.php (opens in a new tab)
greekreporter.com/../history-komboloi-greek-wor.. (opens in a new tab)
en.wikipedia.org/../Faturan (opens in a new tab)
Status: Being verified The record is public. The sale opens once a documented supplier is signed.
SKU: PX-KOM-HOR

A hand holding a string of polished dark horn worry beads with a tassel, a red enamel tray on a wooden table behind

Illustration of the object and its place, not a photograph of a named maker.

The address

Peloponnese Πελοπόννησος

The southern peninsula, from the fir forests of Arcadia to the olive groves of Messinia and the port of Nafplio.

About this object

What it is

A κομπολόι (komboloi, worry beads): a loop of horn beads strung by hand, held and turned between the fingers. It grew out of the komboskini, the knotted prayer rope of Mount Athos monks, and has been widespread in Greece since the mid-20th century.

Where and how it is made

In the Nafplio tradition, Argolis, Peloponnese (GR-J). Nafplio has a Komboloi Museum, opened in 1998, which holds more than 700 pieces dated from 1550 to 1950 in amber, coral, horn, bone, wood and other materials, and runs a working bead workshop. We intend to buy from a Nafplio workshop.

How to use it

Hold it in one hand and flip the beads over one finger, one at a time, or swing the loop. It is a habit, not a religious object. Keep horn out of long exposure to water and heat.

What we have not verified yet

No workshop is signed. Maker: [partner to be sourced]. The price is an estimate. We will not sell coral, which may need CITES paperwork, or anything labelled ‘new faturan’. It is light and sturdy, but horn import rules must be checked per non-EU country, and Australia stays closed until a biosecurity check.