Armenian or Balkan Bracelet

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Armenian or Balkan Bracelet

Posted by Lynn Ardent on September 29, 2015 at 10:59pm

This is an ornate bracelet from the Armenian or Balkan region. It consists of a core bracelet of decorated circles joined with gilt granulation. Suspended beneath this and attached to each circle is a chain with paisley dangles. The pin closure has another set of longer chain and dangles that falls over the hand. All in high grade silver. Many thanks for the opinions in the comments.

Comments

Lynn Ardent September 29, 2015 at 11:03pm

Another view
Preethi September 30, 2015 at 7:52am

Beautiful! Must look wonderful on.
Mustafa J. Salem September 30, 2015 at 3:52pm

Beautiful bracelet. Very interesting dangles that have unique shapes. The shape and design is very new to me "'never saw like it. "Congratulations and thanks for posting this interesting piece.
Betty September 30, 2015 at 5:22pm

Simply fabulous, Lynn. I've never seen a similar piece before. I like the way the circles seem to be wrapped with wire. A great find!
Thelma September 30, 2015 at 8:44pm

Yet another lovely piece, Lynn. Have you any idea of age? I imagine that the little botehs make a soft and pleasing sound when the wrist moves.
Peter Hoesli October 1, 2015 at 4:42pm

Dear Lynn; I could imagine that this is even more north than Turkey. Could this maybe originate from Armenia or the Caucasian region? The rings, forming the bracelet, are looking similar to rings, which are usually hung from belts of these regions. Anyhow, it looks gorgeous to say the least! Congratulations. Peter
Betty October 1, 2015 at 6:12pm

A very astute observation, Peter...just found two examples we discussed here:
https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/21-armenian-queen-opposite-of-th...!/photo/12-1?context=user
https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/21-armenian-king-plus-writing#!/photo/30?context=user
Lynn Ardent October 11, 2015 at 12:05am

Dear Betty and Peter, thank you for the great suggestion!! Yes I believe these could be Baltic or Armenian in particular. The wrapped circles appear frequently in Armenian silverwork and also in Levant jewelry which I strongly suspect was made by Armenian silversmiths residing in the Levant.

Thank you Thelma, Mustafa, and Preethi for your kind comments. Thelma I have no idea of age as I have never seen a bracelet like this before. On FB someone asked if it could have been put together by a dealer, and since I have examined the silverwork and I can say that 1) the cuff is original, 2) the silver chain with boteh/paisley shapes is original, as all these pieces are finely soldered. The only thing I cannot say for sure is that the chain was always attached to the cuff since the jump rings are not soldered.

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Armenian or Balkan Bracelet

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