Tilakeen from Siwa

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.

Tilakeen from Siwa

Posted by Preethi on April 14, 2013 at 4:54pm

A pair of tilakeen - worn over the head and down over the ears from a red leather headband. I was offered this pair in Siwa, Egypt, some days ago but I wasn't interested.Did take some photos as I thought forum members may be interested to hear about them.These weighed a kilo easily, and the starting price was stated as 10,000 egyptian pounds (about 1500 dollars).

Comments

Peter Hoesli April 15, 2013 at 8:59pm

Dear Preethi: These are wonderful - thanks for posting them. Regards. Peter
ait ouakli April 15, 2013 at 9:22pm

authentic,old and very beautiful looking tialakeen" the hangings"

the leather and buttons are also exceptionel
Alaa eddine SAGID April 16, 2013 at 1:36pm

wow that is a lot of money and when one sees the low quality, i understand you declined to buy, nice move!
Preethi April 16, 2013 at 5:27pm

Well, the reason I didn't get these was not because my keen eye and intellect (ahem!) couldn't be fooled but because I couldn't see myself wearing them on the metro to work :) Seriously, I'm out of my depth when it comes to folk jewellery like this and haven't seen enough examples to gauge quality. They looked authentic and used enough to me, and although the silver work wasn't made by an expert silversmith, it could be that whoever had this made couldn't afford an expert and had to go with what their budget would allow.

What would one look for in terms of quality with something like this?
Patricia Deany April 16, 2013 at 6:04pm

I think the price is high but not totally out of bounds, how many of these have we seen for sale in the past few years? And, most likely the price was negotiable. I can't judge quality by these pics -- I guess to me the important issue would be authenticity --Are these cultural items worn by an individual from Siwa and do they show authentic care and wear or are they made for the tourist? Well, clearly not to be worn by a tourist since very few of us hang kilos of silver from our temples. I think Siwan jewelry is hard to find, if it were me in Preethi's situation, I would probably try to bargain the dealer down since I do collect folk jewelry which for a westerner is ultimately unwearable.
Patricia Deany April 16, 2013 at 6:15pm

Here are some cuties wearing their Siwan finery.

Gallery

Tilakeen from Siwa

Comments

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