We have a vast collection of images here which have been shared over the years ...
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Comments
Wow, this Looks even better! Very very nice, Betty! I cannot speak about the material, on photos it is too difficult to say. But you can guess by the price you paid. If it was not sooo expensive, or even a good bagain, it is probably an alloy. Nevertheless, it Looks gorgeous. I also like the long bead, which seems to have these "knots" decoration on it. I have not noticed on the other picture, have to look at it again. But here these also look great.
These are mostly good silver about 700/1000 this Muria is made up of we made beads and in perfect conditie on the picture the openings of the beads look lovely finished off sothat your cord doesnot get cut through. This is a Muria from the country sides Hararque, they are mostly larger than the city worn ones. A good piece Betty.
Thank you Ait, Eva, Akkie, and Ingrid! And thank you for the feature, Sarah!
What amazes me is that the beads in this necklace are very different from some older filled beads I own. The beads in this piece are completely hollow, lighter and larger - which might have to do with the fact that they are from the countryside as I just learned from Ingrid. But is it "normal" that that they rattle (small stone or metal piece inside?).
I am also not convinced that they have a good silver content (not that this would would make them any more or less attractive). I should test them, but my tester is rather unreliable below 80/100.
And one more stupid question: are the cones always soldered to the beads at each end?
Correction Betty, being empty is more a sign of the city and not the country side because in the coiuntry side they will have to stand more rough handling, because the peasant women do have to do a lot of bodily work. and.....yes the ending cones are always soldered onto the beads, Sometimes they get undone, but should. The rattling inside the beads could be some left overs from the wax/clay substance. One of the way to check the silver is to put a drop of the substance on the bead and you will see on the color, if it turns light yellow,no silver and more to the orange 60/100 and the more red it gets the higher the contents of silver. put a drop on a item you know is for sure 800/100 or more and compare it to this color. (you can cancel the mark with a little bit of rubbing with steelwool.
This is an excellent discussion, I have learned so much about this topic -- I know very little about East African things.
Thank you Patricia, it is good to hear if your shared knowledge and experiences are appreciated.
Gr. Ingrid
Wow, all this info! I copied it, so I can read it again and have it at Hand,when I Need it. Some day, I might also acquire such a Muria necklace, if I can afford it. It is really a great Piece and I love all the Information given here on it. This is widening my horizon! Thanks a lot to all of you, especially Ingrid and Betty.