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Comments

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  ingrid Langerak November 1, 2014 at 10:24pm

   Johanne,Very interesting  item.  Refined fillegrain pendant and skillfully made linked chains.

  Do you think these type of jewellery is still being used somewhere?  A good eye of you for finding this .

  Ss you have any experience with it? So......special. Gr. Ingrid.
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  Lynn Ardent November 2, 2014 at 5:26am

  Love the detail.  Ingrid, the one book on Palestinian jewelry that I own says they fell out of fashion by the mid-20th century.
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  ingrid Langerak November 2, 2014 at 8:03am

  Thank you Lynn , another question, is the jewel(necklace?) looped with a plug of hair or hung from the headgear? Gr. Ingrid.
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  Lynn Ardent November 2, 2014 at 2:04pm

  It was hung from the headgear on either side of the temple, so that the chain hung beneath the chin.  They were also sometimes just worn as a necklace with the hooks closed in the back of the neck. 
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  ingrid Langerak November 2, 2014 at 5:47pm

  Thank you for clarifying Lynn.  You are an active lady.  Gr. Ingrid.
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  Peter Hoesli November 4, 2014 at 1:06pm

  Dear Johanne, very beautiful indeed. First of all, these necklaces are hardly worn these days and secondly, there were not that many produced either. Hence, these necklaces are extremely rare to find these days and VERY expensive. I have a few of these necklaces myself. The last time I have visited Jerusalem, one of the dealers has offered me Euro 7,000.- for one of my 7 souls necklaces... If you visit Jerusalem, visit the shop of Barakat, close to the Sepulcher Church. The father is a great collector (antique Palestinian dresses but also jewelry) and has very nice Palestinian pieces for sale (not cheap!). I always enjoy visiting them and then we talk for hours over a coffee, tea, then again coffee.... Regards. Peter
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  ingrid Langerak November 4, 2014 at 2:38pm

  Dear Peter, this is generous information. and great for Johanne to have stumbled upon it. I wondered also about the beautiful gowns the women on the photo were wearing are they made of wool? as you must have have seen similar dresses in that shop. Just curious and an admirer.

  Gr. Ingrid.
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  Peter Hoesli November 4, 2014 at 4:51pm

  Dear Ingrid. The dresses are made of wool, cotton and of course also silk (the Silk Road, roads to Mecca and many trading routes between Asia and Europe and Africa are crossing the region). The Palestinians have beautiful embroideries and so do also the Jordanians and Syrians. It is interesting to know that every town or department in old Palestine had their very own designs distinguishing themselves from each other. The Syrians, however, use also similar techniques as the Turkish Ottoman, having colonialized the region for a long period. I have seen dresses, made of dark blue German (imported!) velvet about 120 years ago with an embroidery which I can hardly describe. Simply magnificent and even today still stunning. That particular dress in two pieces came from Homs in Syria but during the embroidery process was also sent to Turkey as some stitches could only be done there! Such dresses, however, are costing now well over USD10,000.-, that is if one is lucky to find such beautiful pieces. I know a lady in Jordan, who has hundreds of old Palestinian dresses and a visit to her lavish home is a real treat not to be missed. Regards. Peter
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  ingrid Langerak November 4, 2014 at 5:01pm

  Thank you Peter, for this historical info.  I love woven wool and silk and embroidery.  I know and have seen one of the beautiful skirts the Syrian countryside women wore.  I myself have two dresses where a piece (Iranian)of stunning silk, different technics embroidered is taken into the design (cost a fortune long ago), I still kept them hoping that one of my granddaughters may be interested in wearing them.

  Thank you again, going to re-read it and try to lay links. Gr, Ingrid. 
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  Johanne November 4, 2014 at 11:10pm

   Dear Peter, Thank you for your nice and informative comment! I did not know chin chains are rare and expensive nowadays.. I'd never touched and seen one before I bought this one. I only saw them in books and on internet. I did not pay very much for it. I think other people had "struggled" with this item on the Portobello-road market, they did not recognized it.  I bought it from a bric a brac metalware seller, not a jeweller. This week I 'll like to send you a personal message.