Gallery

Comments

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  SARAH CORBETT May 15, 2011 at 9:52pm

  yes that is quite a piece
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 4:34am

  Hilary, - This is without doubt the piece that we DO have in our collection and bought a number of years ago. I don't know where your image comes from, but even colour variations, a few chips, etc, will show you it is the same piece. If you and others want to compare, go to Facebook's "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment", where, in our album, you will find several images of the piece. If - by any chance - the piece is NOT identical, and I firmly think it is, then it would certainly be from the same hand, and of the same age. It is far superior to most Kabyle headdresses one normally sees, including very, very good ones.And this is a good image, too.
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 4:39am

  I've just looked at ours, and there is absolutely no doubt that it is the same piece. There is even the same chip near the top, the same pale coral in exactly the same places, and everything else identical. This is interesting indeed! No course for worry, of course, but do you remember how you obtained the photo? For the likelihood is that the previous owner posted it somewhere, but in a different position from any of the shots we have. Actually it is very well positioned here.
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  Ethnic Embellishments June 3, 2011 at 4:57am

  Hello Joost, If I remember correctly, I got the photo from eBay.  I could be mistaken because it was several years ago and I constantly download images of interesting/ important pieces from the internet.  If you look at my photo albums, there is a nice clove, coral, silver, and trade bead necklace from Algeria as well as set of fibulas which, I recall, was listed the same time as this diadem.  The fibulas appear to have amazonite cabochons, coral, and turquoise enamel work.  If I remember correctly, this diadem is backed in leather that was hand-stitched on?
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 5:15am

  Hi Hillary, - All this fits, and the "miracle" is explained. The seller did put it on eBay, which was not the best place for a piece of this nature, in my humble opinion, as it would for that market be too exclusive and expensive. Anyway, it failed to sell there. We afterwards bought it privately, having a much better opportunity to see the piece on several photos, to negotiate a price, safe sending, etc. You certainly preserved an exceptionally good image, for it is hard to arrange like this. We have several photos of it posted on "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment", and I shall be happy to post yours there as well, with acknowledgements, of course! I have meanwhile posted the clove piece, which I had not seen before. I shall look through your photos and locate the fibulas you mention. I am the same as you: I too assemble good images from the internet all the time, in addition to those which I get in other ways. Good to correspond with you! And congrats on your memory. I think we bought the large diadem around 2006, and it was a sensational acquisition.
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 5:18am

  Hillary, if you by any chance aren't on Facebook yet, you should be. For one thing because you will see hundred of good images on the page "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment" which I run. There is no competition between this site and what I do. Different purposes to an extent, but also much the same ones (i.e. promotion of interest in the subject matter), and most people greatly enjoy joining both places. And they are both free!
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  Ethnic Embellishments June 3, 2011 at 5:34am

  I'm so glad that an experienced collector such as yourself was able to add it to what I'm sure is a superb collection. I was very tempted to get it from eBay, but it was a lot of money and really almost seemed "to be too good to be true".  Any and all photo credits should be given to the original owner, who took this lovely photo.  A good friend of mine was working at the Harvard Peabody Museum and informed me that she was photographing ethnographic pieces for an online catalog.  That's how I got some lovely photos of Algerian pieces.  I posted the link in a prior blog.  I will certainly look for your Facebook page.  Do you collect Qing Chinese pieces?
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 9:21am

  Hi Hillary, - Well ... it was not too good to be true, but is every bit as good as one might imagine. Indeed, as is so often the case with something really impressive, no photo really prepares you for the reality. The price did seem high to us at the time, and we got it for less than advertised on eBay; but in retrospect, considering the demand for good Moroccan and Kabyle jewellery, and the rising prices we have seen in recent years as a result, this was actually a splendid buy in all respects, including financially. One thing to remember is that pieces of this quality are actually extremely rare on the market - more so than we even realised at the time, for under the impact of the great pieces we then bought we have kept a very close eye on this market, and as you will be well aware you just don't see pieces like this; also, any that stand out immediately tend to run into quite a few thousands. Indeed, we had seen only ONE piece as good (though very different) in all the years BEFORE we bought this piece. That was in Morocco, in the early 90s, and cost a fortune even then. We let it go, and I still mourn for that one. To me buying this diadem is one of many instances when we decided we'd buy the best and rarest, and experiencing, as in other instances,  that you never regret doing that. Many much lesser pieces would (a) still be easy to obtain, and (b) not rise nearly as much in price. Often it is better to buy one "super" piece than - even - five "good" ones, leave alone ten mediocre items. But, of course, at the time it always hurts a bit! I shall certainly post this lovely image, which is the best I've seen yet, and yes, it was definitely taken by the original owner. He took several for us specially before we clinched the deal, but not one which is quite as good as this in showing people something that can stand so much on its own. So I pleased as anything to see you posting this, and will proceed to put it up on the "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment" page right now!
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  Joost Daalder June 3, 2011 at 9:29am

  Hillary: as to our Facebook pages. Truus does not like Facebook and is very happy to leave all posting to me, though of course I regularly consult her (for one thing she knows much more about ethnic jewellery than I do, though we both love it passionately). I run a page of my own, "Joost Daalder", where I post on all sorts of art objects which I find interesting, no matter whether we own them or not. And yes, we do collect Chinese ceramics, though more so from the Son period than the later dynasties: even so, we have also Ching pieces (few Ming ones, as the good ones are very dear, and the not so good ones are often a bit rough). Do have a look, under "Joost Daalder". You will see quite a range: tribal pieces, antiquities, contemporary ones. And of various kinds. On "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment", I ONLY post pieces which fit that heading, and I on the whole aim for quality pieces. That does mean, often, "expensive" ones (though often not expensive compared to other art works); but I also present to viewers quite humble objects if I think they are interesting. Nothing is for sale, and it is not a commercial page, although I must admit that it does help me to sell copies of Truus's book. However, that is almost a sideline by now - that's how much I post. I also post pieces from others. Please do have a look at both pages, and join them - nothing to pay, rest assured! I think you will probably find both worth joining, from what you tell me.
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  Alaa eddine SAGID June 3, 2011 at 8:30pm

  is this diadem backed by leather?