I'm wondering if anyone can give me any information on Tunisian solid silver collars. In the shape of the crescent fibulae and worn around the neck. Any ideas or photos?
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I know that is what I saw and I thought it was probably a fibula minus the pin. I always like to check though, just in case I'm missing some obscure, rare piece of which I have no knowledge.
They are indeed not collars as Ayis points out: when the pin is lost and the seller has difficulty identifying the object, it often ends up listed as a collar.
I remember seing some really huuuuge crescent shaped fibulas from Tunisia/Libya that could have easily been mistaken with a collar/torque by anyone who is not quite familiar with north african jewelry.
Of course , remains the fact that a dishonest seller would try to get as much money as possible from a fibula wich has lost its pin and therefore sell it as a collar, or he could have just been repeating what the former owner had told him.
As for the Cairene provenance, no one should be surprised. Many local shops cater for the large tourist and collectors croud that visit Egypt, and the souks are awash with jewelry from the whole east africa, middle east and central asia. Of course there are also many libyan pieces that were smuggled across the border such as bracelets and pendants , hence the crescent-shaped fibulas wich was a very common adornment around Tripoli.
I found a large-looking piece on line and it was listed as a Tunisian collar. I doubted that it was a collar, but I thought I'd ask around as I've been wrong before. There was no weight and no dimensions in the listing online, so I sent an email through the website and never heard back. I had saved the website under the favorites tab but lost it when we reinstalled Google Chrome. It was shaped just like the fibulas but had lost the pin portion perhaps. The listing stated that it was purchased in Cairo, so: either the dealer had no clue what the piece was originally or he decided sell it as a different piece altogether rather than a piece lacking the pin component. Who wants to buy a camel with three legs when they can get a horse with four?!
I am wondering , from where did you get the information that such things ever exist?
I am not aware of any crescent shaped tunisian collars in the shape of the fibulas you are refering to!!
At least i have never seen one, nor any of the reference books dedicated to tunisian adornment that i have mention such a thing.
Maybe just a mislabelling that you stumbled across somewhere??? i know of many misleading mislabellings similar to this case, from sellers and bookwriters that have not done their homework properly.
Replies
Hi Hillary,
here is a "tunisian collar" being offered on french ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.fr/Grande-Fibule-argent-massif-/220833244428?pt=FR_...
One can understand how this fibula without its pin looks indeed like a collar.
Ayis
Hi Hillary,
I have one picture of one being worn on my website: http://www.bedouinsilver.com/1b-bedouin-jewelry-in-relation-to-cost... (the penultimate postcard)
Here is another one http://www.inp.rnrt.tn/album/BIJOUX%20TUNISIENS/slides/1.html and here as well http://www.djerbaexplore.com/all/museum-bijoux-parures-tunisie.html
They are indeed not collars as Ayis points out: when the pin is lost and the seller has difficulty identifying the object, it often ends up listed as a collar.
Hope this helps!
Sigrid
I understand.
I remember seing some really huuuuge crescent shaped fibulas from Tunisia/Libya that could have easily been mistaken with a collar/torque by anyone who is not quite familiar with north african jewelry.
Of course , remains the fact that a dishonest seller would try to get as much money as possible from a fibula wich has lost its pin and therefore sell it as a collar, or he could have just been repeating what the former owner had told him.
As for the Cairene provenance, no one should be surprised. Many local shops cater for the large tourist and collectors croud that visit Egypt, and the souks are awash with jewelry from the whole east africa, middle east and central asia. Of course there are also many libyan pieces that were smuggled across the border such as bracelets and pendants , hence the crescent-shaped fibulas wich was a very common adornment around Tripoli.
Cheers
Hello Ayis,
I found a large-looking piece on line and it was listed as a Tunisian collar. I doubted that it was a collar, but I thought I'd ask around as I've been wrong before. There was no weight and no dimensions in the listing online, so I sent an email through the website and never heard back. I had saved the website under the favorites tab but lost it when we reinstalled Google Chrome. It was shaped just like the fibulas but had lost the pin portion perhaps. The listing stated that it was purchased in Cairo, so: either the dealer had no clue what the piece was originally or he decided sell it as a different piece altogether rather than a piece lacking the pin component. Who wants to buy a camel with three legs when they can get a horse with four?!
I am wondering , from where did you get the information that such things ever exist?
I am not aware of any crescent shaped tunisian collars in the shape of the fibulas you are refering to!!
At least i have never seen one, nor any of the reference books dedicated to tunisian adornment that i have mention such a thing.
Maybe just a mislabelling that you stumbled across somewhere??? i know of many misleading mislabellings similar to this case, from sellers and bookwriters that have not done their homework properly.
Cheers
There is an example of one right now from Lybia on ebay (170672923128). The Bir book also has some examples of them.
Becky