Wednesday, August 24, 2011

A Worthy Necklace for a Yemen Bride of High Value

Remember when you saw the photo of the Yemen bride loaded with her bride wealth?  I will post it again just to remind you of the wedding adornment that a highly valued bride wore in 19th century Yemen:

The necklace that I am now posting a photo of is of a kind that the father or groom would pay dearly for, I am sure, because he had to provide enough Maria Theresa silver thalers to make the necessary amount of beads and a matching number of  thalers as payment to the silversmith.  The Yemeni Jewish silversmith who made this particular necklace is Baws.  In general, the work from Beit Baws (House of Baws) is not signed with the maker's mark, because the work is so distinctive that it has never been matched by someone outside the Bawsani tradition. 



There are 15 filigree beads with granulation and 7 medallions attached to the 7 central beads on the chain, also made of wire filigree on a silver background with rosettes of granulation.

This will be a nice finish to the discussion of Yemen bride wealth jewelry for a while, so that we can turn our attention to the much longer archeological and historical record of the culture and handiwork of the succession of peoples who have inhabited the region that is Western Asia.  

You can find more information on this necklace at http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/product_view/craftsofthepast/4053462/Antique

5 comments:

  1. Wow, that almost looks like a type of torture for the bride! lol Each silver piece of jewelry is beautiful, but the effect of it all together is quite astonishing!

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    1. It might not hurt any more than our high heeled pointed toe pumps ;)

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  2. Wow! I can't imagine sitting there for a photo with all that silver finery on, much less standing. The craftsmanship of the Bawsani silversmiths is truly amazing. Thank you for sharing, Anna. And ix-nay on the high heeled shoes . . . :D

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    1. Yes, I got married back when Cuban heels were the style; I really never did learn to be comfortable in high heels. But I could sit and hold as much of that beautiful silver as long as they piled it on me!

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