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
In Oman Adorned, Shelton and Morris explain: "...When there were no danglers (hanging from the box), the box was called khatma ("the Book", i.e. the Qur'an). The word khatma in fact refers to the recital of the whole Qur'an on festival occasions, or to a part of the Qur'an learned in the former Qur'an schools; it seems likely that the use of the word khatma for this piece of silver gave rise to the name "Qur'an boxes", commonly used by Westerners to describe all such amulet-boxes."
Typically such amulet boxes, made to protect the wearer from harm, had verses from the Qur'an engraved on to the silver, or written on a piece of paper and placed inside. The opening of the box was then sealed shut by the silversmith.
The use of ottoman coins and turquoise stones is very peculiar to central arabia , but the fact is that these boxes were very heavily used by shiaa muslims to hold prayer (very rarely complete qurans) as upper arms ornaments along with other tube shaped holder (similar to those you also posted) or jeweled plaques
Possibly from the eastern region of saudi arabia where a sizeable shiaa community lives
here are persian examples made from silver, in Iran they were made also in very precisous material such as gold and emerald and diamond......