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HEAD COVER - SYRIA-TURKEY - FRONT VIEW2

The bottom rows make this hat even more special. The middle section is featuring gilded coins. The chains on the sides are typical Syrian in style. These chains can also be seen in the Iraqi Kurdish jewelry.
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Comments

  • Very special and unique. Beautiful Peter

  • Lovely hat. It's great to see some Syrian jewelry. I hate to think what is happening to the people and all that heritage now.

  • I love it, Peter.  A really wonderful and soulful piece.  Congratulations on a treasure!

  • Very nice hat Peter. Are those Ottoman 10 para coins? Br

  • Peter, again something so unusual, never seen even remotely like this. Must weigh a ton. How do you find them.  You must have alerted half the Middle eastern Vendors.  Congratulations. Any idea when they were used?  Thank you for showing .  Rather curious how they are kept together or in shape in this pattern. Sewn through a whole in the coin onto a cloth cap? Gr. Ingrid.

  • Dear All; Many thanks for your messages.

    @ Sami, the 1st, 5th and 6th rows are Ottoman 10 coins. The 2nd and 3rd rows are Ottoman 50 "cents" coins. The 4th row is mixed, 50 "cents" and Ottoman 10 coins and the 7th and 8th rows are Ottoman 20 coins from 1327 (Hijri), which means that they are 109 years old (now we are in 1436 but you already know this). When looking closer, the gold or gold plated coins (I believe that they are not gold plated but solid gold, maybe a lower carat) are not really coins but most probably minted by the silver smith which is most of the time the case. 

    @ Ingrid. Oh yes, dear Ingrid, I seem to be well known.... for years, I always buy from pretty much the same vendors with some exceptions. I am loyal and so are they. This also means, that I am getting offered good pieces. I have discovered this particular hat during my last visit to my beloved Jerusalem back in January. I could not purchase this hat, because I have spent a lot of money on the huge Ramallah necklace. Hence, I have asked the dealer to keep it for me and when a friend of mine visited Jerusalem last week, she purchased it for me. I am glad that I did not have to cross the border to Jordan with this beauty - this would have yet been another scene at the customs.... (not only the vendors know me but so do the customs officers!). 

    With kind regards. Peter

  • Dear Ingrid; Yes, the coins are sewn through a whole onto the fabric. Each row is having a plied fabric underneath, which makes the entire hat quite flexible. It also ensures that the hat and coins are remaining stable in their construction and that the fabric is holding up much better to the wear and tear, which is quite obvious in this piece. With kind regards. Peter

  • Thank you Peter for you admitting your addiction.  I know it from my times in Ethiopia when new items arrived from the country side dealers also used to call me and I didn.t know how fast to get there, many times had to buy on credit, but they let me because they knew it was safe.  I loved the atmosphere around the dealing also with lovely Ethiopian cups of coffee and sometime their very sweet  spiced tea.

    Miss it. But lovely memories.  Still a bit envious though, wish you still many years of bliss. Gr. Ingrid.

  • Thank you for the detailed info Peter. This is certainly a unique hat. You made me more curious to now the exact area where this came from. I have only seen as many coins on the famous Hebron hat "Um El Darahem" although they are stitched in a on the fabric in a different technique (image below from Britishmuseum.org). It also brings to mind the Ramallah hat -whic I know your familiar with despite the fact that it only consists of 1 row of coins. Br

     This is a Palestinian money hat, worn for weddings and covered with amazing stacked coins and dangling with found objects. Beautiful!Bellydance

  • Dear Sami; Many thanks for your message and the posting of the Hebron hat picture. I have been offered several years ago a Hebron hat in Jerusalem. The dealer wanted over USD7,000 and later reduced it to USD5,000. I probably would have spent the money if I would have had the assurance that it is authentic. However, I had the feeling that the hat was put together from parts of several hats. I cannot say what it was but I simply had a gut feeling that something is wrong with it. I have asked later Mrs Widad Kawar about these Hebron hats and was then even more convinced that my decision of not buying the hat was the right one. Well, this leaves me still without a Hebron hat... With kind regards. Peter

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