We have a vast collection of images here which have been shared over the years ...

Click on an image to see the discussions around the piece.

Enjoy!

Tihama Bracelets

Made from coin silver, very heavy bracelets from the Tihama coastal area in Yemen.
Read more…
E-mail me when people leave their comments –

Comments

  • Beauties! But I would want to wear them, being   a woman..............!

  • They are REALLY heavy!  That is why I don't wear them.  But I thought they were very interesting and sculptural.

  • Are you sure they are mans bracelets? None of the books I did read about Yemen jewelry mentions this.

    Which book did you find this info?

  • Okay, Harald....someone at some point gave me incorrect information. I just asked a friend of mine who is an expert on Yemeni stuff, and she says that you are correct and that they are worn by women.  So thanks for your input....one must be continuously evaluating the information that one finds.  I have recently found mistakes on Tunisian stuff in a published book, but it is so easy to get bad information....That is why this forum is so terrific!!!  We all get to learn from each other.

  • You are so right we learn so much from each other on this forum! I am glad I joined in.

  • Just for my personal information,is it common for men to wear bracelets in Yemen and, if so, are there typical men's bracelets? I am not surprised in the least that women may wear very, very heavy things simply because of the single Reshaida bracelet that I own -- but I can't see this as an everyday use thing, I mean how can you clean, cook, haul water, set up tents and tend to children if you are , in fact, wearing bracelets that weigh so much. Does anybody know if, in fact, women wear these very heavy things on a daily basis?

  • Harald, I removed my comment. It is better not to talk about this in public.

  • Patricia, I do not know if the man in Yemen did wear bracelets. In Oman some did. The bracelets above are not extremely heavy, our pair has a weight of 360 grams, not to bad for wearing. We wonder, like you, how people did wear such a lot of heavy jewelry and still do all their work. In fact in a lot of cultures they do. Think about heavy jewelry that can not be taken off because they were put on when very young and stayed there all their lives. For instance on a lot of pictures, taken in the old days, from woman in Morocco they wear those very heavy bracelets while working in the fields. Or the Hmong woman who can not get rid of all those rings around their necks. The extremely heavy anklets in Africa etc. 

  • Generally in muslim countries adornment is forbidden to men, bar a finger ring and of course fighting, arms, cavalry and smoking accessoires maybe a couple of bodycare tools as well!

    I say generally, but exceptions exist but they are rare

  • I weighed these....together they are 620 grams.

This reply was deleted.

You need to be a member of Ethnic Jewels to add comments!

Join Ethnic Jewels

Request your copy of our newsletter.

If you would like to receive our newsletter

Click here