Photos

Comments

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  Lynn Ardent December 30, 2014 at 5:05am

  Close up view of amulet.  I am going to try having the closure replaced by a silversmith and will repost the piece if I am successful. 

  
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  Peter Hoesli December 30, 2014 at 1:10pm

  Dear Lynn; Oh, you would love the souk of Muttreh (old town and port of Muscat)! It is FULL of jewelry! I have visited Oman many times (of course for jewelry hunting!) and among others seen also pieces from Turkmenistan, such as yours, as well as Yemen. Last time, I found a large belt with many coins (Maria Theresa and others) as well as a gun powder horn. My excitement was short lived as the dealer wanted USD6,000.- for it! Hence, while one can still find good quality Omani and other pieces there, they are extremely expensive. This is a nice necklace Lynn. With kind regards. Peter
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  Lynn Ardent December 30, 2014 at 8:07pm

  

  I just looked up photos of the Muttreh souk and I cannot believe my eyes.  Yes, I would love it and leave without any money at all!  :)  Do the shops still look like this?

   
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  Peter Hoesli December 30, 2014 at 10:50pm

  Dear Lynn; yes, they still look similar to this. However, one has to study the jewelry before to know at least the basics of traditional Omani jewelry. Over the past years, I have seen the attitude of some shop owners change. There are however, some who still have a passion for the trade and will sell you good things. Again and as in many countries, the real superb pieces are no longer kept on display at the shop but either at home or under the counter and only offered (at correspondingly high rates; and Omani jewelry is very expensive) if they see that you are genuinely interested in collecting these marvelous items. With kind regards. Peter
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  Patricia Deany December 31, 2014 at 6:39pm

  This is lovely, note that one of the ends is missing to the amulet. This looks recent production to me, don't know why, just does and I have been collecting Turkoman jewelry for many years. I am not sure what you mean by rustic, the gilding in Turkoman jewelry is fire gilding, a particularly dangerous process because it involves the use of mercury. Oh, i guess you mean was it made by a less professional jeweler. Well, I guess that could be true, but, to me it is also still a fairly recent piece which does not mean it is bad, just not super old.
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  Patricia Deany December 31, 2014 at 6:45pm

  Or, maybe the top part of the original tumar was broken off and another top piece was added by a not so great artisan. That is a possibility especially in light of the fact that one of the ends of the tumar is lost. In that case it is of mixed age with the bottom part being the older and finer.
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  Lynn Ardent December 31, 2014 at 6:51pm

  Thank you Patricia I appreciate your thoughts.  The end of the tumar was lost in a sad accident (husband unpacking Christmas present and not realizing it was in the papers somewhere!!) but I have just sent it off to a silversmith to try to have a new one made.  I will post the results when it is complete.

  I agree this is not old, although your point about the top and bottom of the tumar is intriguing.  There is quite a visible weld line to the top, when I get it back I will take a closer look.   My main question is whether a piece like this would be made for Turkoman people, or for collectors/tourists.  It is definitely used but I know that does not definitely answer the question.  :)
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  Patricia Deany December 31, 2014 at 6:53pm

  I think that maybe it was made for a Turkoman person, at least part of it was and then certain things were added to it -- like the top part. I guess it is hard to see by looking at a pic -- old Turkoman stuff has a certain feel and patina to it and pics can't give you that kind of information.