Gallery

Comments

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  Joost Daalder June 23, 2011 at 10:09pm

  All these are in the "hirz" category - Koran holders (i.e. containers for verses from the Koran) - and made in Yemen. Nice old pieces all four of them, and collectible. For other and similar examples see e.g. Truus Daalder's *Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment*, pp. 394 and 395. These seem good purchases - well done. You can, of course, wear them, too!
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  Isabel Iglesias June 24, 2011 at 12:26am

  Thank you Joost for all the comments on my Yemen pieces! And yes, from time to time i wear one of these ( not the big one because it's too big!).
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  Joost Daalder June 24, 2011 at 2:30am

  Sometimes even the big one proves wearable if you place it fairly close to the neck, or alternatively well below the chest. Anyway, the other three are all very finely made and will be a delight on the body, as well as works of art. Truus now hardly ever wears tribal pieces any more, and we still greatly enjoy them simply for their intrinsic artistic quality. All these look good to me, and I think you did well to get them. Most of these pieces would pre-date 1950, as they were made by Jewish specialist smiths, and Yemen is known for both that fact and their leaving for Israel at around that time, after which the manufacture of quality jewellery virtually collapsed, in the absence of indigenous smiths with anything like the ability of the Jewish ones.
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  Natalie Opie November 18, 2013 at 2:27am

  Wonderful!