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
Do you from where this black coral came...right now there is a good offer of such black coral bracelets from indonesia!
Could the material used to come from there!
Chinese never fail to add some details on low provenance material: the eternity knot here is very well done
Hi no i don't actually but it is used quite a bit over there. I have thought these were Mongolian yet no one has ever told me that. I'm not sure. I got it in Beijing a long time ago.
unbelievable, I love black corral but it is so delicate, very easily drying out and the grow layers let go of the center piece. I wonder how this unique antique bracelet is kept so together. Does it get an oil or lacquer layer or so? For me very very special.
hi good question.. i have had several and for years I also wondered myself. This one is thickest I have ever had. It seems to e in good condition not sure why it's like this. Some dry out and have broken, when too thin. I will look at it but seems not to have anything over it. When you smell black coral it smells like sea weed like the sea.. I know that in Cuba there is a history of Black Coral being an export. Not now but a friend who had traveled there for the government told me that he saw allot of black coral in shops and at one time was a bid deal there. I'm not sure it's allowed to go out or even if they fish for it now. Most Coral is protected around the world. It is curious where the Mongolians got the Coral from.. It would be interesting if in fact Cuba was on a trade route of sorts. I know that I have a map showing Indians and Spanish and boats trading , from the 15th c that there were populations of Spanish there as we had here, and perhaps it came from here and went East? I don't know if trade to that area took place that late ? I suppose it did and right up to the missionary period in the 19th c.. Some one would have to get trade route info and also export and import books to see what was being traded to know for sure.
the indo esian or the south eastern asia provenance would fit better in a chinese use...closer geographically me guess
Hi where did you post it? am looking in new photos don't see it?
https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/old-balck-coral-indonesian-brace...
these should be upper arms bracelets still being made in indonesia...obviously crispier that yours and with less patina but i fell it is the same material...again these are made from a solidified thick tropical algae...but right now the exact specy is elusive to my memory