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.
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Comments
gorgeous piece!
It's gorgeous, Peter! What a dramatic, wonderful piece. Can you elucidate some of the symbolism?
Dear Eva and Anjali; Many thanks for your messages. This is a good question Anjali and I will follow-up. However, this is usually quite difficult because most of the sellers are Indian or Pakistani and unfortunately no longer Saudis. They are more interested in selling items and not the history or origin of the items. Hence, when I ask them a question, they are telling me anything just to keep me quite... There are also some Yemeni sellers, who are more knowledgeable. These are usually the older gentlemen.
Anyhow, like most of the Saudi jewelry, this upper-arm bracelet, called damlaj, has its origin in Yemen and was made for the women of the coffee-producing families of the mountains of Milhem in Mahwit province. I attach herewith the "standard version" of this upper-arm bracelet, which explains why my piece is so particular... With kind regards. Peter
... and here is the piece, which I bought 6 years ago in Jordan... it is showing the top decoration better than the other piece. Hence, 3 rows with each 3 bubbles are arranged on each side and on the top of the armlet... Here in Saudi Arabia, this armlet is either worn in its traditional design which is mostly the case, or slightly amended, which is the case in the above armlet, which I recently bought in Riyadh. The seller had more of these armlets with a similar top design but none of them was so huge as this particular unit... I hope that this information can be of help to you. With kind regards. Peter
Dear Peter, all of that is so interesting! Thank you! Do you think any of these features could be male and female fertility symbols, or symbols of the mountains of Milhem? Since the work is originally of Yemeni design, I wonder if Marjorie Ransom would know about the meaning. In any case, both of your pieces are quite wonderful.
A fabulous find and so distinctive with its there pyramids on top. I have only ever seen them with silver balls as the one you posted below. Congratulations on this gorgeous piece!