DSC_0098 An Old Libyan Necklace 'Shariya'

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DSC_0098 An Old Libyan Necklace 'Shariya'

Posted by Mustafa J. Salem on March 25, 2015 at 10:53am

This piece was traded with another 'Shariya' that was relatively more recent. This gilded piece is quite old with Tripoli hall mark. Crescents with different filigree . See the following pic. for details

Comments

Thelma March 25, 2015 at 11:28am

Wow, Mustafa. What a magnificent necklace. One of the things I like best about it are those pendants, which include the filigree crescent moons, the teardrop shape and the strange end decorations which seem to end as khamsas.
Mustafa J. Salem March 25, 2015 at 1:08pm

Thank you Thelma for the kind comment. I am pleased that you liked the new-old piece which I managed to trade for a relatively newer one that I had. I was lucky that I walked to the shop just one day after this piece was sold to him so it was mine. Unfortunately a lot of these are nowadays melted for making new jewellery. This shop keeper however is very sensitive to culture and tries to save all the old pieces and sells them separate which is nice as most others just melt them and sell them as raw silver for master smiths to work with, instead of holding them for sometime to sell as old pieces.
Thelma March 25, 2015 at 2:59pm

Have you noticed how the bottoms of the main pendants look like lighted candles... the stem is the piece decorated like a khamsa and the flame is the teardrop shape :))
Mustafa J. Salem March 25, 2015 at 5:22pm

Yes the main pendants are I think meant to be 'Khamsas' but it is a very clever observation about the tear drop shape of the final pendants. In some bigger necklaces' Libba' these tiny pendants are also preceded by small beads..
Chantal March 25, 2015 at 8:53pm

Splendid. I had always thought that those could only be found in Tunisia, but I can see that they have spread around. Very difficult to find complete. Congrats.
Mustafa J. Salem March 25, 2015 at 9:05pm

Thank you Chantal for your kind comment. You are right the 'Shariya' was very popular in Libya as well as Tunisia. They are getting hard to find complete nowadays, especially the older ones. But in Tripoli it is still possible to find them at the shops that buy scrap silver . Some of these rare pieces are being saved by some collectors .
Edith D March 26, 2015 at 1:47am

A particularly nice model...Mabruok!
Mustafa J. Salem March 26, 2015 at 4:22am

Shukran, Edith for that nice comment..
Peter Hoesli March 27, 2015 at 3:42pm

This piece is gorgeous Mustafa - Congratulations! With kind regards. Peter
Mustafa J. Salem March 27, 2015 at 4:34pm

Thanks a lot for your kind comment Peter.

Gallery

DSC_0098 An Old Libyan Necklace 'Shariya'

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