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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The little case with its faint incised design has a wonderful worn feeling to it, and the the dangles show wonderful age and patina too. This one is a real treasure!
I agree with Toya. I also love the five dangles, also representative of a hamsa.
It is always fun to connect the dots between historical forms. Here is something that I found VERY interesting. It is an ancient Etruscan amulet worn by young boys. This practice continued into Roman times.
HI Edith, glad to see you back on the forum.
your question is spot on and you may want to know or you may already know that Clemence Sugier suggested the connection of Roman Bulla amulets to a particular Tunisian pendant, although she seems to rather link it to the "Chaqfa" pendants from Mahdia, Moknine and Djerba.
Linguistic hints are very potent in tracing back influences in these matters and Berber linguists state quite a long list of Berber loanwords from Latin!
Although the word "Btoula" is derived from an arabic name suggesting uniqueness of use, used alone or incomparable!
I dont know if the arabic name could relate to the use of this amulet on the ground, it could also be a case of what linguists refer to "letters inversion" and the word might derive then from another root such "Belouta" which is the arabic name of the "acorn" fruit and thus suggesting the domed, convex shape.
Of course, I have not given a sufficient defense yet either, hence the source of my question. But I find the similarity between the bulla and batoula intriguing. My Arabic language ability is limited, and I have no idea about Berber language...I did not know that it included many Latin words, so your information is interesting. How about another related question. I have always thought that the use of the word "Berber" to describe Tunisian jewelry was over applied. I have always suspected that the use of the term "Roman" or "Phoenician" or "Fatimid" would better describe some pieces, but perhaps I am "splitting hairs". What do you think?
I have had the same issue withe Sugier's assertion and would second your reserves.
As to your feeling towards the bold berber connection which is often met in books and on the ground (market), i guess it has a lot to do with both a deep misunderstanding of the population geography and history of the people of North Africa as well as what i feel could be a marketing tool.
In Morocco where berber culture is much more vivid than in Tunisia, the issue is much stronger.
i believe the berbers have been fabulous conservative of North African sequential historical layers.
Phoenician influences are still visible and so are their Roman counterparts. In the case of Tunisia there is no deniying to what the Fatimids had left in the jewelry heritage further serenghtened by the post Andalucian reconquista population movement.
Some early researchers have pointed out to the only dichotomy we could apply to North African jewels. The adornment heritage could be acknowledged through a polarization between urban and rural, but the approach would not be complete if we ignore the perpetual communication between these two worlds.
Often as the Urban microcosm abandons techniques and shapes in favour of new trends, the surrounding rurality would eagerly adopt it and employ it in their material culture.
It is a trend i am personnally witnessing in nowadays Morocco, where rural mountaineers are all the hype about pearls, cross stitched embroidery or massive gold belts...ect.... very much everything city dwellers from Fes or Casablanca used to favour a couple of decades ago eventually replaced by new imported fashion.
This process encompasses all aspects of their life, not only jewelry or adornment, but also architecture, food and even language!
Some may indeed argue we are all "splitting hairs", but the subject is far too complex to accomodate a simple or superficial commitment