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Comments

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  Ethnic Embellishments May 19, 2011 at 1:31am

  Do you think that perhaps someone put this piece together with older components?  I've never seen branch coral beads inside circles before.  Very stunning design!
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  Toya May 19, 2011 at 3:46am

  Maybe so. I hadn't thought of that. Some of the metal wire connecting the coral is old, some is new. The design just doesn't make sense to me.
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  Ethnic Embellishments May 19, 2011 at 4:00am

  How large are the circles?
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  Toya May 19, 2011 at 4:53am

  The circles are 1 and 3/4 inches across the diameter. It is a big complicated piece but it falls beautifully when worn.
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  Ethnic Embellishments May 19, 2011 at 5:23am

  It is quite a mystery.  I'm for the contemporary-design-made-from-old-pieces theory.  I personally will occasionally put together pieces in a modern design with old silver and beads.  Not everyone who likes old pieces likes traditional ethnic style.  I think that one way jewelers keep the market going is by appealing to a broader audience than the traditional one.  Morocco's market is full of newly made pieces for mostly tourists and export (we sell a lot of new pieces).  Jewelry was once a form of investment and savings; nowadays there are far safer ways for people to guard their money (though silver and gold speculators must be tickled pink at the moment!)  It is sad that many very traditional pieces are being broken down.  I think that we have to record and catalog the old pieces, but also accept that change is inevitable.  Your piece is what I think of as "ethnic flair"; contemporary design innovation with traditional embellishments.  Based on the diameter of the circles, those nice, rich, red branch corals make me drool.....
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  Alaa eddine SAGID May 19, 2011 at 9:03am

  Nice hillary.

   

  the little khamsa and round pendants are abundant in tunisia and the bigger hoops are temporal hangings in south tunisia (maybe parts or tripolitania as well)

   

  Good use of old componants to make an enticing style for a tourist (or a trendy local)

   
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  Stefany Tomalin May 19, 2011 at 2:32pm

  The chain looks too regular to be old.

  If the components are traditional someone here will have surely spotted similar ones in another perhaps original context.

  (and its always useful to adopt the habit of showing the scale, if possible including a ruler in the image.)

  i have a few examples of recently assembled necklaces -for tourists no doubt,  that incorporate a few very special ancient beads/pendants. it seems to have been a common practice in modern Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, etc.
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  Toya May 19, 2011 at 4:54pm

  Thank you everyone for weighing in on this. And thank you Hillary for your insightful perspective. I bought this piece on ebay, the seller knew nothing about it's origins. I originally intended to take it apart and use the gorgeous coral and small pendants in other jewelry. I try to never take apart old original pieces so I now feel comfortable to disassemble this one if at some point in time I need the elements for something else. For now, I will enjoy wearing it as is. Who ever made it was a master at engineering because despite its complexity it hangs beautifully and never tangles.