Moroccan Clamshell Necklace retailer | African Trade Beads 142147

PRODUCT DETAILS

+ Materials - Resin, String, Shell
+ Made In - Morocco
+ Traded In - Africa
+ Overall Condition - Fair to good. Some of our beads have traveled at least three continents, and have graced numerous owners. Small chips, corrosion, and pitting are a normal part of their patina attesting to their age and extensive use.
+ Damage/Repair - Cracks, chips, see photos for details
+ Necklace Length - 28 inches, see photo with ruler for comparison
+ Brand - Unbranded
+ Style - Trade Beads
+ Type - Necklace

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

Additional Information:

Morocco is well known for its artisans and silversmiths, and the jewelry they create - whether new or antique - draws on history and symbolism. 

The Berber People and the jewelry of their culture is a traditional style of jewelry worn mainly by women in the rural areas of the Maghreb region (Northwestern Africa). Berber silversmiths and artisans created intricate jewelry designs with distinct regional variations. 

Berber women often receive elaborate silver or other jewelry from their husbands when they get married, as this ensures that she has her own wealth in the event of an emergency or of becoming a widow. You will often see official coins used as adornments to jewelry so that if necessary, they could be broken off and sold. Jewelry is also easy to take during annual migrations so you were always able to take the valuable pieces with you. Women also hand their jewelry down from generation to generation, maintaining their ethnic identity and cultural traditions. 

Berber jewelry often features beads of coral, semi-precious stones, coins, chains, and intricate silver designs. The shapes and forms the jewelry takes draws from Berber symbology, Islamic tradition, and some are intended to ward off evil. 

 

For more information, please see our comprehensive guide to African-made beads, African Beads: Jewels of a Continent, hardcover, 216 pages, 163 color photographs, available from Africa Direct.

The name “heishi” comes to us from the Santo Domingo and San Felipe Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, and can be translated as “shell bead.” The earliest recorded beads were made using the heishi technique. Heishi are produced by perforating shell fragments, threading them on wire, and then grinding them into disk shapes against a stone. Whereas “heishi” originally referred only to shell beads made with this technique, the term is now applied to disk-shaped beads made from almost any natural material.

 

Sources: 

Gargouri-Sethom, Samira (1986). Le bijou traditionnel en Tunisie: femmes parées, femmes enchaînées (in French). La Calade, Aix-en-Provence: Edisud.

Rabaté, Marie-Rose (2015). Les bijoux du Maroc : du Haut-Atlas à la vallée du Draa (in French). Paris-La Défense: ACR édition.

Rabaté, Marie-Rose; Rabaté, Jacques; Champault, Dominique (1996). Bijoux du Maroc: du Haut Atlas à la vallée du Draa. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud/Le Fennec.

Rabaté, Marie-Rose; Goldenberg, André; Thau, Jean-Louis (1999). Bijoux du Maroc du Haut Atlas à la Méditerranée retailer, depuis le temps des juifs jusqu'à la fin du XXe siècle. Aix-en-Provence: Edisud/Eddif.

Sheppard, Lynn. “Berber Jewelry, The Art of Moroccan Silver.” Morocco Travel. 22 December 2014. https://moroccotravelblog.com/2014/12/22/berber-jewelry-the-art-of-moroccan-silver/

 

AO0822


SKU: 142147