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really wonderful, I admire it very much! Thanks for showing it detailed and alone in a Picture. It gives us (me) a Special joy and a widening of knowledge about Ethiopian hairpins and treasures!
You have probably already discussed this in depth and I missed it, but the granulation work on these old pins and on some of the telsum are reminiscent of the granulation on Yemeni Jewish silverwork. Did the Jewish people in Ethiopia participate in making these pieces, or are they only in the tradition of the Jewish work and made by Moslems and Christians?
Patricia, the jewellers in Ethiopia are and were Ethiopians of all religions. Highlanders mostly christians,Tigrai and Eritrea. Lowlanders more moslem like Wollo,Argobba. Gondar has the black jew Falashas, but they did not have connections with any outside jews. Any connections with Yemeni jewellers can be from Harrar town and could have been jewellers there, but pieces from this area were also brought in as wedding gifts, as they have trade connections(coffee & chat ,kat). In the south Jimma and Wollega are christians and moslems. So in short, the jewellers are Ethiopians. Since 1910 there are also Armenian jewlellers ( they came into Ethiopia under the rule of Emperor Menelik (the emp. before Haile Selassie). A hot pot
The fillegrain work is more from the highlanders.
Thank you for this information.