KhalKhal origin?

Hi, all!

My wife found this article at the bottom of a  shelf in a shop in Tunisia that was selling all sorts of silver jewelery in addition to the usual tourist souvenirs. We bought it because we just like it very much, but we don't know what it is, where it comes from and how old it may be. One of the managers at the hotel told them that this was called a KhalKhal, that is all we know!. We are pretty sure it is solid silver, it measures 13cm by 11 cm and weights about 700 gr.

It has two marks that could be hallmarks, but they are very small and worn out, the only think I can say is that they look like two little hearts.

Can anyone please help. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

Guiem

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Replies

  • Thanks for your full and really helpful description alaa.
    Hope to see you again soon. S x
  • Thank you all very much, the comments are illuminating and are extremely useful. 

    Great website!. 

    Guillem

  • Great comment, Alaa. I did think the piece looked early, but felt too ignorant to comment otherwise! Glad to know more about it. And I am grateful to Sarah and Patti too.

  • The most definite proof of this being old is IMO its weight.....local people have gone impoverished for a much long time to be able to afford such a heavy silver khalkhal. and if they were rich enough they would have rather invested into new gold items.

    Tunisia is the last coubtry in north africa where khalkhas are still playing a role in local culture being a mandatory part of dowry jewelry at least to be worn for marriage day and displayed to public.

    But trends and economic crisis are so demanding that nowadays khalkhals are ratherade out pf copper and gilded....the same you can see in the photo below for sale in the moknine market devoted to wedding material.

    Furthermore if you begin to scratch tunisian jewelry traditions on books you would notice that khalkhals do come in different shapes and styles and that yours is of a very old and scarce type. yet simple and bold.

    Even if used in marriage rituals and endowed with magical and esoteric believes. such heavy silver jewels were bought as to store money and wealth for hardships and were easily sold during droughts pr poor harvests...eventually bought again the next year...and so on.
    Heence the weight.
    A common practice shared by many people and cultures around the globe.

    Although fish and birds pattern are ubiquituous throughout tunisia my guess is that this very anklet should come from the interior north of the country deep int he countryside and far from the coastal areas where jewelry was often gilded and using elaborate techniques

    personnaly i have never seen a similar. great purchase and thanx for sharing
  • It is very difficult to discern patina, age, quality from pics-- jewelry has to be experienced, touched, smelled and thoroughly examined to begin make any judgements. Looking at this, because of its relatively ( in my opinion) unusual shape and composition and variety of motifs, I would say it is old -- how old it is impossible to know. If Edith, our Tunisian expert, is out there , maybe she can offer an opinion.

  • Learning to understand levels of workmanship, patina and wear are an acquired skill, these are the tools which allow us to appraise the age of jewels.
    I am not an expert in Tunisian pieces, but this is a khal khal and has typical designs for a Tunisian piece, from sight the patina looks ok, if you examine the piece, and touch it, it should feel smoother and silkier in places where it has been in contact with the skin of the wearer.
    Look for evidence of wear, dings and bumps.. Also look at the dirt which gathers in places which are engraved..
    The piece is likely to be 800 parts per thousand of silver, but you Would need To test to be sure.
    If you use the search facility on this site and search for khal khal Tunisia you should find others for comparison.
    Warm wishes

    Sarah
  • How can you tell how old a piece is? The seller told that that this one was an old one, but  I did not really trust him ;-)

    Guiem

  • Fish and birds are common Tunisian motifs. Here is another pic from Edith -- at the Moknine wedding market.2463512543?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024spaceout.gifspaceout.gif

  • Have always heard these described as Tunisian anklets or Khalkhals. There are more represented on this site.2463514236?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

  • 2506000771?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024

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