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Old Moroccan enameled necklace

Antique gilded and enameled necklace elements from Meknes, Morocco. These are extremely scarce and the only reference i could find is from the Stockholm ethnography museum in Sweden collected in 1903 !
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  • These pieces are very beautiful, Alaa. I love the colours and the craftsmanship. Have you any idea what the original necklace would have looked like?

  • Thanx thelma.

    I can't think of any old picture where this necklace is being worn, however necklaces from Meknes with enameled round/pear shaped necklaces do come in a wide array of styles and coulours and photographic evidences of some types suggest that they were worn with either fresh water pearls or baroque sea water pearls from the persian gulf (the oldest). later mother of pearl beads were often used along with a sprinkling of coral beads and by the time the french conquered north africa, many glass trade beads were used.

    The gold necklaces used in addition to the baroque pearls, roughly cut emerald "roots" beads.

    I would also suggest that many were worn without any other material, but rather strung with enough metal/silver/gold  spacers, such as these filgredd beads here, to allow for a confortable wear.

  • For documentation purposes, here is the piece kept in the Stockholm museum. their staff have obviously better photographing skills  :-)

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  • Thanx Chantal.

    Well this one was found on a flea market stall here in paris.

  • WOW, this looks gorgeous Alaa - Congratulations! Peter

  • @Chantal

    I like to think, that such important/rare/older pieces, do find you rather than the opposite. It is a very DEAR privilege in every sense of the word!

    @Peter

    Thanx, happy you like it.

  • They are great, Alaa and so well preserved. I have only found pictures of two similar but not same pendants and beads. The quality of the pictures is not good at all though and the pieces shown are not as beautiful as yours or those in the Swedish museum by any means. Congratulations!.

  • Thanx JOSE.

    Now that you are mentioning similar pendants, i think i have found other references from the valérie Gonzalez book "Enamels from El Andalus and the Maghreb" of which i have the french edition.

    Page 184: a single pendant from an old black and white printing of an old Parisian collection

    Page 194: a single pendant with two filgreed spheres from the former Parisian "Musée de l'homme"

  • Yes, those are precisely the ones I found!!

  • Hi Alaa, - I only now see that you have also posted the Stockholm Museum piece. Just overnight (my Adelaide time) someone posted it - quite independently - on the Facebook "Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment" page, where I then produced that image more prominently. And I also posted it on the "Ethnic Jewel" page on Facebook. It will be getting better known, along with your own fabulous piece! But as I say, I had not seen you had posted it here already.

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