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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I have had a few like this but I'm not sure if they are Yemen or Arab like Saudi. I'll have to look it up. I have only had two and many years ago. I think mine had gilt on them also? Photos before digital. This has a nice shape.
By looking this up I ran into something I have never known from where it was for me. I was looking in a book on Yemenite jewelry and found these ... Bad examples and much newer in the book but these are what was listed as snake head filigree bracelets worn by Jewish woman in Berat Neast Yemen.. Mine I always thought were very old, these in the book are 1930 ... published example..
Now I will continue searching for yours..
found them. In a French book of Bedoin jewelry page 74 of L'Art de L'Orfevererie Bedouine heather Coyler Ross.. all in French. She seems to think they are from central Arabia.. I understand what she says but it's nothing to do with specific info on who wore them.
hi Linda Thanks so much! I'll further look into it, now I know what to search!
these are indeed from yemen but have been widely distributed across the muslim world due to the yemenis being great travelers and also due to the fact that these were a common souvenir and gift brought by HAJJ pilgrims to their beloved ones
@Linda
Won i do remember the dicussion we had about these but the most startling thing is that yours are enameled!!!!!!!
Which opens a whole new horizon on yemen jewelry, unless yours are way older that anyone can think and were brought there by a migrant jewish from a place were enamel was used!!
Look at the base of each snake head on your bracelets, there seems to be an etching reminescent to some indian style!!!
since you lived in India, do you recognize this style being indian ?
What a wonderful find
Is it the same book of bedouin jewelry you found both pictures?
Hi Ayis,
My bracelets i always thought without knowing what they were, are 17th c. The reason being is that the heads and the way they are engraved and the work is very much like pieces I have seen in India. Very much so I never knew where these were from. I got these 20 years ago in Grays market in the UK and from a guy who dealt Central Asian jewelry. I never had seen them, knew they were quite old and then also because of them being a mystery , intreagued me. I have alot of books and don't always focus on them for multi purposes. I went into this book on Yemen jewelry to see if I could find AM' bracelet. So when on the same page I saw this bracelet , (clearly related to mine) I was so happy. Yet because of this being a common issue of a protype changing through the years, it has remained similar in character. As you know, several techniques during a given time period, are in fashion as well serveral styles evolve within a tim frame. How I know my bracelet is of the age I say, is that the work on it is emmediate and of the character that is on other metal work and jewelry of this period. The later bracelet reflects only the style remaining but the essence or character has changed to a point of being a mechanical and rote depiction of the earlier model. As well the over character is so much more 20th c then the original 17th c that it is a way to identify the period through the textural and surface design as well the handling of the skill. Usually the earlier work was true to the quality of the original producers. not watered down. If my bracelets had been 19th century instead, (in my opion) their character would reflect the mechanisms of that time and the tastes in fashion of that time. Fashion did change the traditional appearances of many pieces, and although the body of the piece is unchanged, the general character reflects the taste and quality of work at the same time.
my computer key pad is not working well and sticking so it's creating typos and over typing mistakes.. My spelling is bad but not that bad as below... sorry for typos.
Water spouts and jug spouts are what are similar to my bracelets in the 17th c Indian ones. The use of the gilt silver or brass with silver (two metals ) as well as the over all character, deep enameling and the carved out and applied work is also a give away to age, the texture to the enameling (like a paste not clear) and the color and hue is indicative of the earlier periods. The glass color and inlay and how the glass looks also another indication. The bells being made of less then silver and not the same as the main body is another feature of earlier work. When you compare other cultures even Ottoman and Europe and what they were doing and producing as well enamel colors, this is how one can make an estimate of age.. It's not an exact science and so I'm only guestimating through my own collected research over the years I have looked at tens of thousands of pieces.. gut instinct. I had hoped to some day prove this and have been keeping photos of pieces that clearly are archaic prototypes so that I can compare through many periods to show cultural and technical changes on pieces of the same design.. This would be my best acheivment after years of dealing to put this forth in a useful purpose , also being able to some how proove it. I need to figure out how to do it and work with people to help since it will take quite a bit of active seeing to put everything together to accomplish the goal. Many museum pieces, many private collections and many photos.
I place this in Yemen and Ethiopia Beautiful bracelet Anne Marie.