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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Comments
Lovely piece, Mustafa. I like it very much - red and silver is always a great combination.
Thanks Betty. I am pleased that you've liked this piece. I could still be cleaned for silver shine.
this is nice Mustafa, how you call them, salhat or salhiyat ??
Thanks Ait:
The ones on the sides are called ' Huafer- for a horse shoe' while the one in the middle is a type of 'khmesa or khamsa'. The salha is usually rounded and closed not open is the 'Huafer'. Needless to say that this is as far as I kow from my humble knowledge.
mustafa
thank you so much, yes we call them hawafir and sfayeh too ( sfihat in some regions )
the khamssa in the middle is wide in northafrica, the north of sahara, aures mountains until lybia. they represent the 2 protective elements : khamssa and salamder. this is a khamssa with salamander paw form
Thanks for the interesting info Mustafa and Rabah. This is the first time I hear about this type of Khamsa being made to represent a salamander paw!
I love the Hawafir - I own a large own from Lybia stamped with a Tripolis hallmark which I love wearing.
The salamander is high seen in many ethn8c groupes, in N Africa,its the same too. People have heritated the patternsand symbols that were trasmeted throw the time but the meanings of were lost in many cases.
If you see some khamssas in matokko,specialy essaouira ones, they have salamanders complet ,some of djerbas too. Another ones have just an abstract touch of a salamander.
The hardly one to understand and see is the tuareg one
This, i leave it to you to find ( dont forget,abstract and hard to recognise,it is more the salamander way than itself ) good luck
Thanks everybody for the contribution. Ait and Betty I learned from you about the salamander, and I appreciate the contribution from both of you. In Tripoli I see that some mastersmiths do make the small salamanders even today. Apparently, the small ones are in demand even if they are modern .
Gorgeous necklace and a great discussion.