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Posted by Lynn Ardent on January 11, 2016 at 9:06pm

Here are the same two Palestinian bracelets from the "Master and Apprentice" photo with the addition of a third smaller munamname bracelet, again made to the same dimensions and I suspect in the same workshop as the other two. I would love to know more about who made these bracelets, and whether they were native to Palestine or immigrants from elsewhere in Ottoman lands (ex: Armenian.) I always welcome corrections and other opinions.

Comments

Tesori Orientali January 12, 2016 at 2:09am

gorgeous bracelets …and great picture!!

congrats….Angelo
Toya January 12, 2016 at 4:32am

These are such lovely elegant pieces with nice patina. It is interesting to see them together and compare the workmanship. Thank you for posting them.
Sami Yousef January 12, 2016 at 9:19am

These are just beautiful Lynn! I see that these bracelets have two common styles of workmanship ( granulation and filigree) that we see in many pieces from Yemen. So I would assume that these are either made in Yemen then sold in hijaz / by Yemeni silversmiths in Hijaz (Ksa) and traveled with Palestinian pilgrims while in haj. Great pieces indeed ,congratulations.Br, Sami
Lynn Ardent January 12, 2016 at 5:01pm

Thank you Angelo, Toya, and Sami. Sami, Widad Kawar places bracelets like this as made in Palestine and I believe she is right. Filigree work was brought to North Yemen by the Ottomans who also brought it to Palestine, and there are examples of beautiful filigree from Palestine which I will show below. There are also some technical differences between Palestine filigree and Yemen, including the construction of the bracelets, the hinges and closures, and how granules/appliques were created. I am trying to research who the silversmiths were that did this work in Palestine, I have a totally unsubstantiated :) theory they might have been Armenian immigrants by looking at the work and knowing that Mrs. Kawar does mention Armenian jewelers working in Palestine. Here are some other examples of Palestinian filigree work:

From the British Museum, collected in Jordan by Shelagh Weir:

From collection Widad Kawar:

And a beautiful Habbiyat from Nada:
Peter Hoesli January 14, 2016 at 12:19am

Dear Lynn; I have left some comments on the previous photo but when reading the below comments, they are pretty much the same. Armenia was a huge country, spreading over much of Turkey, Syria, etc. before they were decimated. Due to the prosecution, the Armenian started to migrate across the Middle East, Levant, Egypt and even further south to Ethiopia, etc. while bringing along their skills of carpet weaving, silver works, etc.. If you go now to Cairo, you will see that pretty much all silver smiths are of Armenian origin. However, in my opinion and as mentioned before, I believe that these bracelet have their origin in Yemen. With kind regards. Peter
Nada January 14, 2016 at 7:28am

I also thought they look distinctly Yemeni rather than the simpler Munammnam bracelets which have a diamond shape on the closure, but one thing made me suspect that they may be the work of a particular Palestinian workshop heavily influenced by Yemeni styles. The reason is that if you look at the Habbiyat bracelet that Lynn has included below which happens to be mine, you will notice this peculiar silver wire connecting two applique domes. It is exactly replicated in these bracelets. Does anyone have a reference for this particular arrangement in Yemeni jewelry?