Gallery

Comments

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  Alaa eddine SAGID August 13, 2014 at 4:15pm

  What a brilliant and rare design merging a bird with this element!
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  Savanna Caravan August 13, 2014 at 4:20pm

  Thanks Alaa.   One of my obsessions is collecting pieces with bird motifs .. from old beads to old silver.  This one is quite heavy and it's large ... about 60mm.  Where do you think it comes from?
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  Savanna Caravan August 13, 2014 at 4:20pm

  It must be a citadel piece, too?
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  SARAH CORBETT August 13, 2014 at 4:30pm

  Also Essaouria
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  Alaa eddine SAGID August 13, 2014 at 4:31pm

  I second Srah, very likely Essaouira, more so because of the bird than the presence of the "rose"

  Could also be from "SAFI" a little but further to the north of essaouira on the atlantic coast
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  Savanna Caravan August 13, 2014 at 4:34pm

  Hmm.  We went to Safi.  Not much fresh air there!  I didn't know they had their own style of jewellery.  What's their dominant motif?
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  Alaa eddine SAGID August 13, 2014 at 4:51pm

  MOstly the judaica jewels from this city were very striking as well as those from essaouira with the single fact that jewels had very elaborate designs with birds and often victorian (yes you read it, victorian) influences, for that jewish communities from both cities were heavily trading with english compagnies...matter of fact they were their exclusive representatives in Morocco and in front of the moroccan king......
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  Savanna Caravan August 14, 2014 at 1:05am

  Alaa this is most fascinating.  I'm intrigued - having little historical and cultural knowledge about the region so far - as to why such elaborate and beautiful work has come out of Essaouria and close by ... now I know.  What were they trading? It's obviously a valuable seaport and on both of my visits there was able to pick up beautiful pieces.  Was the Essaouria jewellery in general much finer than Marrakech because of the royal connection ?  
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  Savanna Caravan August 14, 2014 at 1:06am

  How can you tell the difference, between Safi and Essaouria designs?
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  Alaa eddine SAGID August 14, 2014 at 1:24am

  You can't tell, only hallmarks can tell you but it only work for early pieces where city's name was engraved along the date

  In general Essaouira have had a more cosmopolitan but keeping with contemporary influences...from the beginning essaouira was meant to be the window or the gate of morocco to the world and by royal decree it was built and by royal decree the finest artisans and merchants were "invited" to settle to new seaport and indulge in trade with western powers....

  It is again very striking that so far the only place where filgree in morocco have had such weight is only in essaouira from where it was homeopathically exported through obvious jewish connection to some limited localities in the south...nowhere else filgree have had an importance in morocco in traditional smithin bar essaouira and to a lesser extent Safi...which is obviously another hint of this technique being an import into the moroccan technical scene

  Safi being a port of earlier times than essaouira it seems it eventually fell into some sort of lethargy after essaouira was built and the trade went there exclusively, so the most striking pieces bearing hallmarks of safi are quite early compared to eassaouiran conterparts, but at the same time very early pieces from essaouira are rarities and most do bear the aggressive influences of the west, namely english

  General trade in the region begun very early with sugar before it started to be cultivated as a cash crop in the newly discovered americas? then usual moroccan products such as leathers, arabic gum, ivory  or more exotic such ostrich feathers which were a big hyped items in 18/19th century europe, imports were tea, indigo fabrics, tea pots, processed beads and items....

  Note that Marrakech has a very very decent and low refined/elaborate tradition compared to other cities....it was a net importer of traditions from fes and elsewhere ... marrakech lived on its early history as a moroccan capital ( and that was under the very sober rule and low exhuberant almoravids) and eventually grew as a catering and dispatching center  for the berber mountains....up until now marrakech is considered by moroccans as a not so serious city but it did transform under the tourism trade....marrakech smithing traditions are very weak, almost non existant compared to essaouira...even dagger smithing was much more elaborate in second class cities or even villages in the marrakech province then in marrakech proper!!