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
Gorgeous! I did not watch the Video (hope I find time tomorrow to watch it), where is this one from?
Thanks Eva; I was rather hoping some of our great experts might have an idea. I am totally at loss. However a similar cuff has been posted here earlier this year: https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/mystery-cuff-1#!/photo/mystery-cuff-1?context=user
Someone suggested its origin might be Yemen, but the use of garnet (or red glass - but I was told it's real garnet) and turquoise (or turquoise colored glass) seems unusual. I have been thinking that it could also be "Etruscan Revival" or maybe a piece made in Israel that's influenced by Yemenite styles. Any suggestion or educated guessing would be highly welcome...
interesting.
is it silver gilded ??
if yes. it means we have a huge area to investigate from indien until mrocco
as tribal mentionned, wire work. tradiotionel smithwork in all the world. the combination gives the oriental side.
from the first vieuw. i ll say a wedding jewelry. since people cant efford lot of gold for the wedding, this jewelry was used . they make copies of the gild ones and they gild them.
the turquise cabochon colors, gives the indication of saudi arabian area until india , even indosia
i ll check later for more infos
Thanks for your comments, Ait and Tribal. I bought it simply because I liked its opulence quite irrespective of its value or origin (and no, it was not expensive :-)). Having researched the web for similar pieces, the closest I found has been posted on this network by av some time ago (I copied the link in my earlier comment). I also have a feeling that it is some sort of a copy. As mentioned before, Etruscan Revival Style was my best guess, or as you suggest, something made for a tourist market. But the idea that it might be wedding jewellery for the less affluent ones, is also interesting. I had not thought of that.
As for the metal, it was sold to me as fire-gilded brass, but it isn't brass. I am not sure if its silver. I think the wirework is, but the metal sheet that supports it may be some white metal. When I have time, I will ask a jeweller I know well to have a look at it.
Thanks very much for your comments!
Tribal, thank you for all the trouble (just watched the great video). Yes, the piece you posted bears some similarities with my cuff. Its like it in some ways, and then again, it isn't. Maybe it will just remain a mystery.
the granulation framing the bracelet contour have a very peculiar feature, the coil shaped base on whoch each grain stands!
This is is very common in ottoman
Do you mean those flower shaped elements consisting of a coil+grain, Ayis? Isn't that a quite common feature of many filigree jewellery from North Africa, throughout the Middle East and all the way to the Caucasus? I have also seen a lot of those "flowers" in filigree European "ethnic jewellery". I think it was also a feature of ancient Etruscan jewellery (which was later copied a lot). But I've only just begun to learn, and this is a great place to do so .......... Thanks a lot for your help!
well if we add garnet and turquoise colored beads then we can probably reduce geographical possibilities!
turquoise beads are common in IRAN, Saudi arabia and the Levant and i have an ottoman dagger with the same red stones (garnets possibly) coming from the ottoman world (don't know exact origin)
i am pretty sure that this bracelet comes from south eastern europe, possibly the balkans, greece or Thrace