Antique Rare Silver Bedihi Berry and Coral Beaded Necklace from Yemen
Veronica Wainstein is the owner of arabiafelixjewels and an expert on Yemen jewelry. From her I learned that 'The Bedihi family was one of the most famous of Yemeni Jewish jewellers in the last two centuries. Their exquisite granulation work, the berry beads and the dugag cylinder beads show the expertise of these jewellers. The main dugag beads are all hallmarked by the artist. All Yemeni jewels hallmarked are from before 1940.'
The detailed granulation in the beads that seem to be built drop by drop with a lot of open space showing even in the small beads. This allows the beads to make a strong impact without being too heavy for comfort.
The pendant shaped as a crown with the dangles is capped with a larger Bedihi bead and there are two more on the side strings of coral and Bedihi beads. The crown shaped pendant is an ornament usually worn hanging from the headband or head covering; a pair of such ornaments hang on each side of the face.
Coral beads, Bedihi beads and often the beautiful Bawsani beads hang by the pound on a bride wearing her dowry on her wedding day. The wedding jewelry will probably also include some dugag beads that are usually signed by the maker. They are large hollow globe beads that wear so beautifully and develop a fine patina. See an example here:
Antique Yemen Silver Bead Pendant Signed by Silversmith
Necklaces, head covers, earrings, bracelets, armlets worn above the elbow, rings on all the fingers and even on her toes tax the brides in wealthy families with a heavy burden on her wedding day. No wonder we always see her seated in the wedding pictures.
Here is a detailed view of the necklace above:
Available at CraftsofthePast studio
I invite you to visit the studio and see this and the other Judaica available there.
By the pound! The bride wore her dowry of gorgeous jewelry on her wedding day. I wonder if there was another occasion where she would wear it all again.
ReplyDeleteDebbi,
ReplyDeleteThe dowry would probably stlll be intact at the birth of her first child, during which she would have a lying in period with all the ladies of the community visiting her and wishing her well.
As her life progressed, her dowry would be slowly dismantled to use as money to buy things that her husband's income would not cover, or for personal things. Her dowry was all hers; her husband could not own or dispense any part of it.
Dowry... Once a very important commodity ion many cultures.
ReplyDeleteI love coral beads
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Very true about dowries. In a way this collection has become my whole family's dowry.
ReplyDeleteAnna
Amazing that the poor bride had to carry her dowry on her special day. I suppose that some didn't mind and enjoyed showing their wealth. Absolutely beautiful necklace and so very detailed!
ReplyDeleteTheir future livelihood depended on that load of wealth. It is the equivalent of a bank account in her name. ;) The bigger the better.
DeleteAnna
When I first opened the post and saw the beads, I thought "look at all that intricate granulation" and had to take a closer look. Absolutely amazing! Your family has a beautiful dowry, Anna (; Although I guess it, too, is being dismantled piece by piece as some lucky person buys them.
ReplyDeleteJust as it worked in the early 1900s ;) Very true.
DeleteAnna
I never thought about how the little dropped balls of silver were designed to increase visibility without making it all too heavy. Still, the amount of precious metal in these jewelry pieces is astounding! Most modern American women wouldn't wear jewelry that's quite so large, but then, we also don't need to have a dowry either.
ReplyDeleteAll very true, Michelle. These women had enough work to do at home. They could not have a career and in general were not even literate. There were no schools in Yemen until very recently. The boys in the family were taught the Torah or the Koran by the clerics at the mosque or synagogue. So the women needed a dowry, about half of which was provided by the husband. It is sometimes called the 'bride price' when the father keeps that half for himself.
DeleteAnna
The Yemen pieces in your studio are some of my favorites. I would hate to think of wearing all of it at one time but I like the fact that the dowery was the brides and not the grooms!
ReplyDeleteIn traditional Muslim law, as well perhaps among other religious nations in the area, the dowry is the 'life insurance policy' that will sustain the family in case the husband/father is disabled, dies or divorces. The woman continues to own her possessions that she brings into the marriage.
ReplyDeleteAnna
Anna I always learn so much from ready your blogs. The items are so very priceless and wonderful. Such a rich history with each ans every bead and embellishment. It is truly amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteJennifer, Thank you for your kind words. I learned a lot as I studied the history and culture of the people who produced these beauties.
ReplyDeleteAnna
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ReplyDeleteExtremely interesting blog post, Anna. I am amazed at all the wonderful treasures you present to us, and all the history behind them is incredible. I cannot imagine having a dowry like this.
ReplyDeleteI love reading about the history of these beautiful, old pieces of jewelry. I'm glad to know that the dowries of these women offered them a measure of independence.
ReplyDeleteJulie and Dawn,
ReplyDeleteI wore the jewelry that my husband first brought back to Pakistan where we lived at the time long before I learned the history of it. It became even more fascinating and attractive to us as we learned about it and we began to collect it seriously and managed over the years to acquire a lot of it before Yemen became closed to the world again.