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.
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More photos of the cuffs, rotated.
Great and interesting cuffs, Lynn. I feel pretty confident that they are indeed from Rajasthan, almost certainly. Many of this type - of which there are many variations, and your pair unusually interesting - do come from that region. These are, in my experience, far more exciting than most.
Very interesting filigree and also design. These are unique pair of very beautiful handicraft. Thank you for sharing these
Beautiful pair, Lynn. These, I believe are worn by women of the Rabari group found in Rajasthan, parts of Gujarat (Kutch district for instance), and extending to the Sindh province in Pakistan.
There are quite a few images online including a few by Jimmy Nelson, part of his Before they pass away series. See http://www.beforethey.com/tribe/rabari.
Another wonderful image is at http://star-seed.tumblr.com/post/20404006402.
As Joost wrote, there are many variations of the type, and I would like to know if particular patterns are associated with specific sub-groups, but haven't come across detailed literature on that. Would love to hear about your findings on the topic.
Seeing more - thanks, Lynn! - I feel that the Rajasthan region, and as Preethi says parts of Gujarat and even beyond, are indeed the relevant areas to consider. The Rabari group which Preethi suggests may well be the wearers. For a pair from Gujarat see e.g. Truus's *Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment*, p. 325. But it may take a while, still, to make sure you have found the exact group - though you probably will do so. They are certainly, we all seem to agree, well beyond the level of most found, though I seem to recall that e.g. Linda Pastorino - who may know the origin of these - also shows a truly excellent pair in some place, and there are some very good ones here and there also on the Facebook EJ&A page I post on. (But my memory is not good enough.) It may also help to go to Google and type in e.g. "tall silver Indian cuffs" (or armbands/bracelets): that very often provides an answer pretty quickly. I have not immediately found a similar type in Untracht or *A World of Bracelets*. But there must be a place, somewhere, where they'll turn up, or something sufficiently similar. So far the Rabari ones in the Jimmy Nelson series mentioned by Preethi seem to me indeed as close as any.
https://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/rajasthan-cuffs?context=album&am... - These, among the ones posted by Linda Pastorino, are among my favourites. I have also re-posted them separately, for all to see directly. Linda has some other truly wonderful Indian cuffs as well.
This picture of an extended Rabari family was taken in Kutch Gujarat, near the Pakistani border, during a festival in august 2003.
Gorgeous cuffs, Lynn! Congratulations. Another great addition to your collection.
I wonder if the foil or whatever it is is applied on top of the silver? It is surprising that it seems to cover both the applications and "the background". Very interesting...
Love the picture you posted below, Simonetta. Did you take it yourself?
Thank you Preethi, Joost, Mustafa, Simonetta, and Betty! And thank you for sharing these wonderful photos. I agree these are likely to be Rabari, but not 100% confirmed as I have not yet found this pattern of decorations on a Rabari example. They may just be older than what Rabari women are currently wearing and hence no great match in the photos. I love Linda's cuffs and you can see some of the same shapes on hers, but hers are even more ornate and beautiful to my taste.
Has anyone seen this kind of pink foil on Indian cuffs before? It is definitely not enamel, but some kind of shiny pink metal which has been applied on the cuff. Betty, it is definitely on the surface and has mostly worn off. I am very curious about a possible relationship to Ottoman pieces with pink silver.
Lynn, Linda's cuffs are indeed wonderful, but yours are also very good, and I think it is perhaps worth pointing out that Linda has collected - and very well!! - for a long time, including periods when there was simply more available. Truus and I, too, could not now replace several of our items any more. In addition, Linda is particularly strong on Indian jewellery. She knows that very well indeed, and actually lived in the country for quite some time. So ... let us rejoice that we can see her wonderful pieces, and not worry if we can't buy them! As you will have noticed, she very wisely keeps a number of the pieces she particularly likes. Indeed, like most good dealers, she is actually primarily a very good collector (starting at age 13) and secondly a very good dealer as well. It is great that she should share so many pieces with us on-line, both here and on Pinterest, and in some other places as well.
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