Kapwani Kiwanga’s ‘Trinket’ installation at the Canada Pavilion in Venice examines the pivotal role of Murano-made glass seed beads in global trade. The beaded strings, suspended from the ceiling and cascading down the walls, delve into the bartering power of these beads, exchanged for gold, bronze, palm oil, and enslaved people in Africa and the Americas. While the installation highlights the disparities in the attributed value of these beads, it surprisingly lacks a more thorough exploration of their significance in Venice’s own economic, social, and artistic history. Despite UNESCO recognizing the art of glass beads as intangible heritage, this vital fact is curiously absent from the pavilion’s information boards, which some critics consider a glaring omission.