Gallery

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.

Ethnic jewelry recycling 1

Posted by Alaa eddine SAGID on August 10, 2012 at 12:50am

This heavy and large incense burner comes from Libya and every tiny bit of it is made out of a jewelry piece. The container is cut old anklet, the bottom of which was constructed from an old head ornament in the for of a disc The links that make the hanging chains are old tits and bits found on almost every jewelry item as dangles, secondary pendants.... The hook, bale or suspension ring is an old crescent fibule pin from which a khamsa-crescent-crescent-fish old talisman is hanging the usual little star in a crescent pendants were used to adorn other parts A clever design weighing almost a pound of silver with zillions of tripoli city hallmarks

Comments

Alaa eddine SAGID August 10, 2012 at 7:21pm

absolutely Akkie, and even if some very fine jewelry was lost here, i was attracted to it as it shown great creativity and somehow was a "sane" recycling compared to jewelry transformed to be sold to tourists (cf. my other photos and bracelets turned into boxes and trinkets..)....here it is an incense burner undoubtefully used by local libyan people inside a mosque or a saint's shrine for religious ceremonies and made of charity-given objects
Harald August 10, 2012 at 8:14pm

I had not seen yet Libyan jewelry made in to trinkets. I only knew about the boxes made from bracelets and the ashtrays made from Indian anklets. So this is new to me. We learn all the time!
Alaa eddine SAGID August 11, 2012 at 1:51am

as i said on my previous comment, this incense burner was meant to be used locally and i don't think it was geared towards the tourist market!!!

More likely, the jewelry was a donation to a local mosque or shrine (common practice in the muslim world before the monetization of the region and everything went cash) transformed into a useful device for the cult
kmena meme October 12, 2012 at 10:09pm

so butiful first ihave not seen before .