bedouin silver
The world of personal adornment from North Africa and Southwest Asia explore the world of jewellery in easy online courses!free ebook 'amulets, charms & jewellery in the middle east'Welcome!
Looking to find out more on traditional jewellery and personal adornment from North Africa and Southwest Asia, often also called the Middle East? You’ve come to the right place! Whether you are a curator, a collector, an expat, a dancer, or have inherited jewellery, these pieces have crossed your path. You would love to know more about them and their world. Because these pieces matter to you.
I am Sigrid van Roode, and I believe personal adornment is more than adornment only. It is heritage. It tells us about the lives of women in the way that no history book does. But this heritage and its stories are disappearing fast.
I study jewellery to retrieve these stories of women before they are forgotten. And I share the world of jewellery in a way you will not find anywhere else: all to help you know everything there is to know about your jewellery! Together we make sure this heritage, along with all its stories, is passed on into a long and happy future.
Take an e-course
See the bigger picture
The only e-courses devoted entirely to adornment from North Africa and Southwest Asia…ready for you to enjoy whenever and wherever you want!
Traditional jewellery links us with five millennia of history and three continents: this is the how, what & why of your jewellery you have been looking for! Let me show you how to read jewellery and see the lives, dreams, fears and hopes of generations of women unfold themselves. Your jewellery will gain a world of meaning!
In these one-of-a-kind online courses, I am sharing two decades of research with you in bite-sized episodes of 15 minutes. No need to carve out extra time in your schedule: sit back, relax and enjoy a journey filled with stunning jewellery items during your coffee break!
About me
I am a jewellery historian and archaeologist. My story with personal adornment began over 25 years ago in Cairo. There, I came across traditional silver jewellery for the first time, and realized that like archaeology, these pieces are heritage. They are a historic source, and have so much to tell about the world they come from!
I work with museums and private collections to ensure this heritage has a long and meaningful future. I write books, curate exhibitions, give talks and in general love to share the stories of adornment. This website contains plenty of those: I wish you happy browsing!
Partners I have worked with
Cultural appropriation in 1 minute
basics you need to know Cultural appropriation in 1 minute Cultural appropriation: you have probably heard a lot about it in the context of jewellery, but what is it, exactly? And what is the difference with cultural appreciation? I will address both in further...
articles
Explore
An ever expanding collection of articles is waiting for you on the blog. Here, you will find over 60 articles that cover everything related to adornment and culture from North Africa and Southwest Asia. Whether you are looking for organization tips for your collection or background information about the magical aspects of jewellery, the blog is an excellent place to start – click on the image to the left for the latest post or follow the link to the blog!
