A digital archive showcasing the extensive collection of jewellery and adornment images shared on the former Ethnic Jewels Ning site over the years. These images have significantly enriched discussions on cultural adornment and its global dispersion.
You need to be a member of Adorned Histories to add comments!
Request your copy of our newsletter.
If you would like to receive our newsletter
Comments
Beautiful rich colour of the "amber". The pendants: are they insects of sort? a splendid necklace, I would like to know more as well...........
Yes, Chantal, I love it too. All I know is that it came out of a very dusty cupboard at the very back of a backstreet shop in Gueliz which was ostensibly selling caftans, shoes and rugs. To my surprise the shopkeeper told me to ignore the very faded price on it - it was far too much!! Apparently it was from 13 years ago. I didn`t know that happened in Morocco. Or maybe it`s some sort of selling ploy that I`m too innocent to understand.
I often think that faux amber can be more attractive than some of the real amber. I like to think that the pendants represent a kind of adapted hamsa/moth.
Maybe he was fed up by the look of it and wanted to get rid! If it is a selling technique it is a rare one...........It might be a hamsa (which would be rather common) but a moth would make it much more unusual and remarkable (or a hamsa with a moth!). We need experts suggestions!
I think these may have been discussed in the past here.... I think they are a form of Khamsa from the Ait Ait Serrouchen region.
I have seen several necklaces made up just this way in the last 2 years. So am not sure of the age of them.
The inbetween beads look like 1980's Indian production.
S x
What about the moth on a hamsa? Have you seen it before? It looks very unusual to me.............and does it mean something?
I don't think that this is a moth, I discussed it with a man in Morocco who said there may be an early gosddess connection, but I am not sure about this.
SX
You are rightof course, Sarah, about the previous discussion. At that time you said the photo was poor (again! I have resolved to get a better quality camera. My current one is very basic). I didn`t want to predudice your judgement by mentioning Ait Serrouchen.
The possible goddess connection is fascinating. I even wondered if it was an oddly shaped sarcophagus superimposed on a hamsa. Thanks so much.
I have a necklace with two pendants with very similar etched line designs. They do not have the"moth" shape, but otherwise are very similar in terms of the decoration. I will post a picture.
I`m looking forward to seeing them, Toya.
With a little research I have come up with the possibility of the central shape being representational of the Berber goddess Tanit. It is similar to an excavated stone statuette of her. She does have simpler representations too.
Perhaps the fact that she was a goddess of fertility may have some resonance where the wearing of a necklace would be concerned. But this could be tenuous. It`s easy to become fanciful.
Tanit is strongly associated with Tunis but was widely venerated by Berber peoples and beyond. Though I might like to, I`m keen not to jump to conclusions. The pendants could just be the result of a silversmith`s flight of fancy.
My further research was a result of Sarah`s mention of a possible goddess connection.
-
1
-
2
of 2 Next