Saturday, March 7, 2015

Antique Kazakh Afghanistan Turkoman Tribal Silver Bead Pendant

A Rare Kazakh Turkoman Bead shown in different lighting:

In a cool light with sunlight blocked, the silvery surface is almost too gray and does not reveal the natural aged patina on the silver.  In the photo below, the sun is obviously streaming in and hitting the background of the photo.  Oddly enough, the surface of the bead appears as its natural self with a fairly dark patina in the recessed places while the raised granules of silver shine softly from being rubbed against clothing of the wearer of this old bead, collected in Afghanistan years ago.  






A side view to show the typical two sided hollow bead style of the Turkoman or Turkmen tribal silversmiths.

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A fuller description of the bead:
Rare find in Afghanistan in my collection for years. This is the prized Kazakh two sided bead that can be used as a pendant. 

Authentic Turkoman tribal silver bead collected by a family member in Afghanistan in 1974. This was old at that time. Note that a slot has formed on the rim of the bead hole on each side caused by the rubbing of the string from which it hung. 
The bezel is set with a green and a blue glass bead. The two faces of the bead are otherwise identical. The granulated silver pyramidal shapes are typical of this tribal style. The base sheet of silver is oxidized and the layer of granulation is applied over it. 

This is a fantastic collector piece of Turkoman silversmithing. You can keep it as a collectible, put it on a cord or chain and wear it alone or you can string it with other beads and make yourself or someone else a fine necklace. 

Measurements - 3 cm x 3.5 cm x 13 mm (1.2 in x 1.4 in x 0.5 in)

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