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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Glad you got it Lynn. it is a nice wearable necklace
This looks as if it would be very nice to wear. I love the heading you have given it :))
Am still learning about jewellery from the region, Betty, so can't help with ID'ing. But it's a charming necklace - very wearable. And that rich green glass in the centre is gorgeous!
Beautiful necklace, congratulations. I believe it is Syrian or Greek, possibly an admixture of both. The glass element appears on Greek kirdans, the boteh dangles on both, the half-round beads mostly on Syrian, and the little parts of the collar look Syrian to me. I lean towards Syrian.
Here is a Greek example:
Here is a Syrian example:
Thank you, everyone.
Very good analysis, Lynn. I also had a look at the Greek piece you posted before with one of your kirdans. Mine really is a very simple and "incomplete" piece and the elements are taken from at least two different necklaces. But you are right, it's absolutely possible that both Greek and Syrian components were used. I also saw kirdans in the Caucasus, but they were quite different.
Hello Betty,
The ‘kirdan’ labeled as ‘Greek’ (by Lynn; greetings to her!) is in fact on exhibit in the Edirne Ethnographic Museum, in Turkish Thrace (I can know, since I posted that picture* on pinterest; *: taken & © by Dick Osseman, a Dutch friend of mine). The necklace can well be Greek-Ottoman, but could also be Turkish.
What I mean is: kirdans of this type can have their origin, not only in the Balkans or in the Levant, but also in NW Anatolia (which expends the area of possible origin considerably).
As to your piece specifically: it looks a bit ‘heavy’ (maybe not in weight, but in appearance) to come from Thrace or NW Turkey. So, I tend to attribute it to a more southeastern territory (Levant, or Turko-Syrian border). Furthermore, I’m inclined to think it is complete, but from a rather poor household; poor people (in Anatolia, anyway, which I know better) used to ‘recycle’ old and fragmented jewelry, often of low-grade silver(y) alloy, and mix the metal pieces with beads or other inexpensive material, in order to create wearable and affordable jewelry.
Can I ask: where did you buy your kirdan?
Best greetings, Jean-Marie.
Thanks ou very much for your most interesting and insightful comment, Jean-Marie.
Of course it makes total sense that this style of necklace did not "jump" Anatolia.
Unfortunately I know nothing about my cordon. I bought it on eBay from a seller who also had no idea where it was originally acquired. But with Turkey and Greece being popular German holiday destinations, it is not surprising that items from these countries turn up frequently in online auctions etc.
Again, many thanks for your explanations. Kind regards,Betty.