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I am stunned. I suppose the gold color is gold plate. And again the beads do look so solid.
Gr.Ingrid
A very impressive piece indeed. I recently came across one similar necklace (happened yesterday!), these should be considered among the latest genuine silver production from Oman, from the time oil was discovered and money flowed into omani households, old fashion was still alive but new income triggered the demand for heavier pieces....Gold jewelry was still unheard of in omani countryside and jewelry acquired an over-dimensioned taste through the cash flow.
Although shapes and designs were sticking to tradition, one can note slight detail changes such as what might be the case here for the holder (central pendant) which would not open and thus not able to receive the prayers it was originally meant for.
can you confirm Peter?
Side note:
Only Oman and to a lesser extent parts of bedouin Saudi arabia witnessed this silver frenzy around 1960 to 1980 while in neighboring micro states, the gold tsunami got rid of the old silver ornaments and in a very bad way through the import of south asian smiths and later the direct import of gold jewelry from south Asia (mostly India)
Exceptional, I love everything about it. Alaa, you talk about a silver frenzy from 1960-1980; I have seen enormous silver necklaces from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, do they fall into this category?
Dear All; Many thanks for your mail. This piece is actually quite old. And yes, this hirz can be opened and it has even a small chain (sorry, one cannot see it on this photo), in order not to loose the cover of the hirz, hence, it is not a later production. The gold is not plating it is a gold sheet (around 9 karat). The Maria Theresia Thalers are all from 1780. I have some jewelry items with older Thalers but they are extremely rare. Having said that, in Oman one can buy these special Thalers (special mintings, different dates, etc.) rather easily - at least until a couple of years ago. After all, the silver jewelry in Oman was made out of these Thalers. During recent years, when the silver price skyrocketed, they have melted a lot of old silver as they could get more money for the melted silver than the jewelry (by weight). With regards to the gold on Omani jewelry, it is correct that the very very old pieces are mostly of silver. However, there are some types of jewelry that I have never seen without a certain gold addition, even in museums and museum books. Here, the influence of Baluchistan (there were a lot of Baluchi expats working and living in Oman in the old days and today, the Baluchis are a considerable part of the Omani population - they have influenced the Omani jewelry tremendously) might play a role. With kind regards. Peter