collections in context
Collection History
How did items of personal adornment end up abroad? Much of it was sold off after World War II, when travel and work migration increased. Notably on the Arab Peninsula, foreigners collected jewellery, dress and related objects in a region unknown to many people. What sparked their interest? Who did they buy from? What stories have they heard? I’m delving into the history of collecting, by going back to the archives as a first step. The Expatriate Archive Center in The Hague holds a document and film archive that I have been granted access to. Interviews with collectors and organizations will help me provide context to collecting. This research will be published in a series of articles.
PhD research
Jewellery and ritual
Jewellery in the zār is the focus of my PhD research at Leiden University. I chose this topic to work on, because it is an excellent example of my general aim: to show how jewellery is not just adornment, but a living aspect of a culture and in a person’s life.
In this study many collections of Egyptian zār-jewellery have been analyzed. These are museum collections as well as private collections, providing an unprecedented overview of zār amulets and other jewellery. First, I introduce the zār ritual. Next, I examine how these jewellery items ended up in European museum collections and private collections all over the world. From there, I track what has been said about them during the century of their existence, charting the divided perspectives ranging from superstition to meaningful act. This will help me in some myth-busting about zār jewellery: many of the things you read online about them have no connection to their original nature.
And finally, I discuss their potential as a historic source themselves: they document history and the perspective of women in an unparalleled way.