How ChatGPT spins jewels

How ChatGPT spins jewels

by | Opinion

AI and jewellery research

How ChatGPT spins our view on jewellery

Published Jan 22, 2024

ChatGPT, it seems to be everywhere. But what does it know about ethnic jewellery? Is it of any use for jewellery research? I asked it a few things and this is what happened.

ChatGPT: what is it again?

In case you missed it, ChatGPT is a form of artificial intelligence (AI). It gets its information from online sources and processes information up until 2021. So basically, what is does, is it Googles faster than you and I ever could, and reshuffles what it found into an acceptable looking text – in just about as much time as it takes to read this paragraph.

Given the time it takes to do proper research (see 5 oldschool ways I use myself here), and the time it takes to write a blog post, I wanted to know what it would produce if I asked it to come up with text on ethnic jewellery. You don’t need a degree in psychology to see the underlying reason – it all boils down to every researcher’s concern: ‘Am I superfluous…?’

Putting ChatGPT to the jewellery test: an academic question

So, I started out big. I fearlessly asked it about the topic of my PhD-research: Egyptian zar-jewellery. That’s a major test of my steely nerves: what if a superbrain with access to everything published online smashes my thesis in seconds? I gave it a rather general prompt: ‘Can you tell me about Egyptian zar-jewellery in 100 words?’

It came back with this:

Egyptian zar jewelry is integral to the zar ritual, a traditional healing and spiritual practice. In this ceremony, participants seek to connect with spirits for various afflictions. The vibrant and intricate zar jewelry, made with silver, beads, and semi-precious stones, is worn during these rituals. Beyond its ritualistic role, the adornments have gained global recognition for their artistic and cultural value. Collectors appreciate the unique aesthetics, highlighting the enduring influence of Egyptian zar traditions on contemporary art and design.

Well, ok. That looks like a coherent answer. Looks like, but isn’t.

It starts off with actual zar, but them quickly turns into a rather general description. Especially in the second part, you could just leave out ‘zar’ and the text would be applicable to any and all jewellery. Also notice the abundance of adjectives: vibrant, intricate, global, unique, enduring…

One thing is clear: ChatpGPT, bless its bytes, has no idea what zar jewellery is. But it has been asked to produce 100 words on the topic, so it does. This is called hallucinating: if it does not find matching info online, it starts presenting text that looks good, but has no direct bearing on the topic (or may even be completely and utterly off the mark).

Putting ChatGPT to the jewellery test: headlines and titles

Content creators ask ChatGPT not necessarily to write their entire content, but use it for inspiration, too. And one thing for which inspiration comes in really handy, is creating titles. Had to try, of course! Here’s how that went.

Me: ‘I wrote a blog with tips on how to clean ethnic jewellery from the Middle East. Can you give me 5 engaging titles that will make my audience want to read the blog? Use maximum 10 words per title.’

ChatGPT:

  1. “Unlock the Secrets: Cleaning Middle Eastern Treasures at Home!”
  2. “Shine On: Revive Your Ethnic Jewelry’s Radiance with Easy Tips!”
  3. “Timeless Brilliance: Discover Proven Hacks to Clean Middle East Jewelry!”
  4. “Preserve History: How to Care for Your Exquisite Middle Eastern Gems!”
  5.  “Sparkling Stories: Unveil the Magic of Cleaning Middle East Jewelry!”

I don’t know about you, but these are not titles I’d dare to serve you. They totally make me cringe. (if you think otherwise, I’d love to hear that, by the way!) It’s too much. All those exclamation marks, the cheesy wordplay, the secrets, the unveiling….It’s just not me.

The blog post in question, boringly called ‘How to clean ethnic silver’ until I come up with something else, is here. In case you simply must read it after seeing these captivating headlines.

ChatGPT: the importance of phrasing

Maybe my choice of words was not the best. So, I asked it for a blog post idea on vintage jewellery of North Africa and Southwest Asia (so no ethnic, no Middle East). It came back with ‘Hidden Gems: Unearthing Rare Vintage Jewelry Finds in Souks and Bazaars’.

Hm. Again, on the sensationalist side with a dash of Orientalism.

Out of curiosity (did I mention ChatGPT is quite fascinating, and it may even get a little addictive?) I asked it for an outline of this blog idea: what would it suggest I’d be writing about?

Here, I was positively surprised. Yes, it did come up with Orientalist content again, such as ‘an overview of the enchanting souks and bazaars’, followed by ‘the fascination of souk and bazaar shopping’ and ‘stories of hidden treasures’.

But the next building block was ‘promoting ethical sourcing and fair trade practices’ and ‘encouraging collectors to contribute to the documentation of cultural stories behind each piece’.

High five to the screen! Have you been listening to me, ChatGPT?? Are you hearing me? Because if you have been following this blog for a while, you know that the future of jewellery concerns me just as much as its past, and it’s nice to see that acknowledged. Even if it’s by a superchatbot.

ChatGPT on jewellery content suggestions

Encouraged, I asked it to come up with more blog post ideas or content suggestions. Let’s see what ChatGPT feels I should be serving you next!

Me: ‘Can you give me 5 blog post ideas that collectors of ethnic jewellery from the Middle East will find interesting?’

ChatGPT:

  • The Allure of Middle Eastern Jewelry – Uh, what does that even mean?
  • Unveiling the Symbolism: Meanings Behind Middle Eastern Jewelry Designs – Got that. It’s all here.
  • The Essence of Identity: Unveiling the Significance of Ethnic Jewelry – Also got that. It’s all here. And a bit here.
  • Beyond the Veil: Craftsmanship and Cultural Heritage – What should this be? On silversmithing and craftsmanship, I think?
  • Collector’s Corner: Tips for Building a Middle Eastern Jewelry Collection – Great, got that, too. It’s literally presented here.

So, three of the five ideas are already present on this very blog. The other two are a bit vague in their description.

That is because these suggestions are super general: again, replace ‘Middle Eastern Jewelry’ by ‘English Mourning Jewellery’, ‘Scandinavian Woodcarving’ or ‘Wedding Cake’ and the post ideas would still be grammatically correct. Anyone with knowledge of woodcarving or wedding cakes could probably come up with content for these suggestions.

But, a bigger issue jumps from these lines. In three of the five suggestions, it comes up with veiling and unveiling. The 4th suggestion does not even mention jewellery, but associates ‘Middle East’ with ‘veil’. And that brings me to some considerations about content produced using ChatGPT.

ChatGPT reflects our world

As I said above, ChatGPT is an AI which uses online resources. It does not create new content: it reshuffles existing information. It literally parrots our world back to us. And it does so in grammatically correct, good-looking lines. The text it produces looks convincing, but upon closer inspection is often quite general. That is smart for sure, but I would not call it intelligent.

It also repeats existing prejudices. Ask a question about the Middle East? You get Orientalist results, with veiling and secrets and fascinating bazaars and more. Apparently, this is what is out there when it comes to information on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia.

Now the thing is that in recent years, awareness of our choice of words has increased. And where many human authors actively try to stay away from lines that are exoticizing or framing, ChatGPT does the opposite. It is lagging behind: it bases itself on data up until 2021, and as such will always reflect a world view of a couple of years ago.

And the more it is used to produce content, the longer that world view will linger. Combined with good looking, but essentially hollow phrasing, ChatGPT spins our view on jewellery right back into Orientalist mysteries.

Using ChatGPT for jewellery research: are we superfluous?

So, can we use ChatGPT for research into jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia? Am I superfluous? As a marketeer, maybe – those headlines are something else.

But as a researcher, I feel our work may be needed even more. ChatGPT is absolutely a very useful tool, but it is just that: a tool. I find it to be helpful in suggesting topics or angles, but it misses a crucial point.

Studying jewellery takes not just gathering and presenting a bunch of facts, but interpreting them. And that interpretation, in turn, definitely needs a human touch. It needs awareness, dialogue and cultural sensitivity. It needs transparency, acknowledging viewpoints of others, and correcting mistakes.

Research is not interpreting in isolation, but listening, learning and sharing together.

So for the foreseeable future, I’ll be typing away oldschool. But keeping an eye on AI developments, because who knows what the future may still bring…!

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Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

What is ‘ethnic’ jewellery?

What is ‘ethnic’ jewellery?

by | Opinion

Meanings of ethnic jewellery

What is ‘ethnic’ jewellery?

Published Jan 12, 2024

It’s a popular term: ethnic jewellery. You’ll find it widely on the Internet, in fashion magazines and in books on jewellery. But what is ethnic jewellery, exactly? And how may we understand it without lumping pretty much all of the world under one global umbrella term? In this article, I’ll give you my personal take on what ethnic jewellery is.

Ethnic jewellery: jewellery of people

‘Ethnic’ comes from the Greek word ‘ethnos’, meaning ‘people’ in the sense of an ethnic group. [1] Ethnography and ethnology stem from the same root. Ethnic jewellery is the jewellery of a particular people or community.

Ethnic jewellery encompasses a vast array of adornments. All of these tell a unique story of the cultural, religious, and social fabric of the communities that create and wear it. So the way I see it, if you want to know what ethnic jewellery is, its meaning for the specific people that made these pieces and to whose culture they belong is central to that understanding.

Just to manage expectations: I’m not going into the discussion around the use of the term ‘ethnic’ itself here – I’ll do that in another article, as there is quite some consideration to be given to this term. But that article is not this one.

In this article, I’d like to focus on how we should understand ethnic jewellery. What is that? Actually, it is a lot of things bundled up in one term, so let’s go over those!

A silver and enamel fibula from the Tiznit region, Morocco
A beautiful gold and coral necklace from Volendam, the Netherlands

Ethnic jewellery: communities of origin

For its communities of origin, ethnic jewellery serves as a powerful symbol of identity and continuity. Each piece carries with it the collective memory of a people – their traditions, rituals, and historical milestones.

Sounds like a large claim, but is very true: jewellery is a powerful historic source, you just have to know how to read it.

That is also why it is so important to its community of origin. Wearing one’s own ethnic jewellery is a clear affirmation of identity: this is who we are.

That meaning itself is also getting increasingly watered down. The variety of styles and types within one community has dwindled significantly over the past 60 years or so. Many original pieces of jewellery are no longer known to the communities that once wore them, and that holds true all over the world.

An example is Dutch traditional jewellery: I am Dutch myself, but not from either region the jewellery you see above is from. Clicking on the images will enlarge them, so you can take in the details.

I can’t place the tiny differences in decoration of veil pins, necklace clasps and head adornment to the level of detail and origin that my grandmother would easily have identified. I still recognize it as the ethnic jewellery of my community, but not as accurately as previous generations.

Ethnic jewellery: its meaning in its cultural context

Reading ethnic jewellery is closely connected to its cultural context. In fact, that is essential: jewellery is created by people, for people, and if we want to understand ethnic jewellery, its cultural context is where to start.

Because ethnic jewellery is deeply intertwined with cultural practices, representing rites of passage, forming a woman’s financial assets, embodying her religious beliefs, and signaling her social status. The patterns, colours and materials used in jewellery may signify a person’s age, marital status, or even their role within the community.

And those may be very local communities: the language of silver ethnic jewellery may be understood in just one region only. An example are the engraved discs worn in the Bahariya Oasis, Egypt. You’ll see one of those above: click to enlarge the photo to see this piece in full. Their meaning is specific to this oasis, the pieces were never produced outside this place, and their significance remains somewhat of a mystery that I tried to solve here.

Three silver hair ornaments for children from Oman

Ethnic jewellery: its meaning in rites of passage

Ethnic jewellery also plays an active role in specific life events. There are jewellery pieces which are created for these moments, such as weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, or even funerals. Just think of the elaborate mourning jewellery of the 18th and 19th century Western world.

More on wedding jewellery is explained in these posts:

The meskia – a wedding jewel from the Maghreb

These adornments accompany their wearers through significant transitions. In that sense, they serve as tangible markers of the individual’s journey within the community. An example are the three silver hair ornaments shown above (click to enlarge them): these were worn by children in Oman. Their wear is specified further for boys, who would wear the hand-shaped ornaments, and girls, who would wear the circular ornament.

Jewellery pieces like these often operate in sync with dress, hairstyle and body aesthetic like tattoos: here again, jewellery always needs to be seen in its context.

An example is how in many cultures there is a great difference between dress and adornment of an unmarried girl and that of a married woman. These differences are presented in more detail in these articles:

Omani hair ornaments – between girl and woman

The Palestinian wuqaya – between girl and woman

A married woman will sport a different hairstyle and wear much more jewellery. That is also because of her dowry gifts, and that brings me to another aspect of ethnic jewellery: its value.

A Ouled Nail Bedouin woman and silver bracelets.
A faceveil from Palestinian/Egyptian Bedouin, showing coins.

Ethnic jewellery: its value and financial meaning

The use of jewellery as a way to store capital goes back to the ancient civilizations. It takes effort for us, living in this day and age, to imagine anything other than banks, credit cards, and paper currency as main carriers of financial value (ok, and there’s designer handbags, but the jury is still out on their long term value…!).

But for several millennia, gold and silver jewellery was the perfect way to safeguard one’s wealth: it’s portable and can be melted down when needed. Serving as capital and asset is another important capacity of ethnic jewellery.

The way this takes material form is different for each culture, tribe and region. It can be adding coins to dress and adornment, such as in the example of the face veil above, or in wearing heavy and large pieces of jewellery. Those are just two examples, but you get the idea!

This financial aspect of jewellery is presented in these articles:

The Spanish pillar dollar – a forgotten coin

Ethnic jewellery: what is it?

As you see, there is no single definition of what ethnic jewellery means: this entire blog and all courses are dedicated to jewellery as material culture of people, and it’s still only scratching the surface.

Ethnic jewellery is many things within its own cultural context. Most of all, it is jewellery that is specific to a culture, region, tribe or other form of society and which distinguishes them from others. It is a visual form of cultural identity, like dress and costume. As such, it is highly specific, instead of a general container term to lump exotic-looking accessories into.

This post will be continued with other thoughts on ethnic jewellery (such as Can I wear ethnic jewellery?) and alternative terms we may employ – stay tuned!

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More historical background on jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa? It’s all in the courses: a world of jewellery detail awaits!

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References

[1] See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnos

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

The Bedouin Silver Jewellery Blog: Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on jewellery, informal ritual and collections. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only. Sigrid strongly believes in accessibility of knowledge, and aims to provide reliable and trustworthy content: that’s why the Bedouin Silver blog provides references and citations.

100 jewellery blogs

100 jewellery blogs

by | Opinion

Jewellery blogging

100 jewellery blogs

Published Dec 29, 2023

This piece is the 100th blog on jewellery! Would you believe it? Time truly flies. A lot can happen in 100 blog articles, and so I wanted to share more of personal perspective on the things I learned during these 100 blogs on jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa. Settle in for the good, the bad and the amazing of blogging on traditional jewellery!

Collecting silver jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa

But first, a little on how I got into this! I started collecting jewellery back in 1995. At that time, I was a student of Egyptology, and I loved hanging out in Cairo’s Khan el-Khalili to look for old jewellery. It still feels like yesterday, even though it’s almost 30 years ago.

Now in those days, the Internet was not what it was today. Social media were not invented yet (I know! Shocker!), having a personal email address was new, and any information still traveled slowly. These were the days that a computer was a big plastic box that could handle all of 250 MB, most households still had one telephone in a fixed place, and when I went to Egypt to work on an excavation, chances were my family would receive my letters only after I had returned.

That went both ways: the most exciting part of working on an excavation was heading out to Cairo once a week, and check if letters from friends and family had been delivered.

So that tells you two things: yes, I am that old, and there was very little reliable info on jewellery around when I just started out. The excitement when a new book appeared on jewellery was just as intense as that feeling of joy when a handwritten letter had found its way to me in Cairo – wow! Something new to read!

A silver amulet container from Egypt, placed on handwritten Arabic magic squares

Blogging on traditional jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East

How different things are today – there is so much out there on all things jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia! At just a click of a mouse or a tap of the finger, there is a world of images and info available that I only could have dreamed of all those years ago. To me, it is absolutely fantastic to browse Pinterest-boards and chat with people from all over the world through social media who share that passion for traditional jewellery.

But…that is also where the flip side is, I think: in the lightning speed with which information travels the Internet and our ever-shortening attention span. When I do online research, I come across the same tidbits of info repeated again and again. Absolutely, there is so much interesting stuff out there! That also includes tons of content that is copied and shared over and over again, but not necessarily always true or even reliable. More, yes, but not always better.

Jewellery blogging: all the good

That is partly why I decided to start a blog. The other reason, of course, is that I just love talking about jewellery! And, as it happens, I also really, really love to write.

By starting my own blog, I could write about everything I find fascinating or beautiful about traditional jewellery – and that is a lot. A hundred posts on jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa, and it feels like I’m just getting started!

The absolute amazing part of blogging is the number of people I have ‘met’ through blog posts or social media posts. I could never have dreamed of the community I found simply by writing about jewellery, and starting a blog honestly is one of the best decisions I ever made.

Nerding out in the notes: jewellery blogging with transparency

Blogging provides me with the opportunity to add solid information to the digital world. And one of the things I learned in the past 100 jewellery blogs is that I prefer to include references. At the end of most of my blog articles, you will find the exact place where I got specific information from. If it’s available online, I include a link to it. If someone told me, I am clear about that, too.

I want to be as transparent as possible on where I get my information from. Providing clear references helps all of us with our own research. That’s why referencing is standard practice in published articles, and I don’t see why I should not apply the same to blog posts. You can always skip them, they’re at the bottom end for a reason!

Detail of coins and beads on a bright red Palestinian headdress

Blogging on jewellery collection management

There is a segment to jewellery collecting that does not get all that much attention online: how to actually manage a collection of traditional jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa? There are practical aspects to consider like cleaning silver, storing and documenting, but what to do with your jewellery collection later in life? Sell it, donate it…and how to go about that?

And then there are the ethical and legal aspects to consider. What about coral beads, ivory bangles, excavated beads, archaeological jewellery…can these just be bought and sold? And what is this whole provenance-discussion about, specifically for collectors of traditional jewellery from the Middle East and Southwest Asia?

I decided to blog about those practical things, too, and over the past 100 blogs I learned that these tips for jewellery collectors are among the articles that you refer back to most often. I’m really glad to be of help in this way!

Sigrid van Roode, wearing a summer dress, reading books on Tuareg jewellery

Blogging about jewellery books

Even though the digital world is amazing, I adore books. There are a lot more of those since I first started out, too, and one of things I love doing the most is reviewing the latest books on jewellery and related fields for you. Opening that package straight from the publisher still brings the same level of excitement as 30 years ago! I guess I’m one of the biggest book nerds you’ll ever meet.

Over the past 100 jewellery book blogs, I learned that you like these posts: they are appreciated by people who are on the fence on whether or not to buy a particular jewellery book, and by people looking for titles they might enjoy.

Here as well, I found that being transparent adds to the value of the blog: I’ll always mention whether I received a book as an advanced reading copy, or if I purchased it myself, whether it was gifted by the author, or any other way a book may have found its way to me.

The tarnish on jewellery blogging: copyright things

Blogging sounds simple, but it is not the marshmallow-hued world of sipping latte’s in fashionable coffeerooms that the Internet would have you think of: a lot of work goes into these articles. Especially if you’d like your photos to look nice and your texts to be referenced. Writing blog posts just takes serious time.

And then suddenly, there is that first realization that someone has copied your work, copyright policy nothwithstanding. That is a reality I learned in 100 blog posts, too.

Here are some examples of things that actually happened. Please forgive me if the following sounds blunt! But I promised you the bad, too, so here we go.

I’ve had some of my photos decapitated to cut off the ‘Bedouin Silver’-text (granted, the text was at the bottom of the image, so it’s more like defooted) – and in doing so, part of the object on the photo was removed, too. It’s beyond me how anyone could want to pass off a photo as their own so badly they would purposefully damage the image itself, too.

I’ve had people copy my social media posts and present it as their own. It happens a lot with the texts I wrote with those posts: these I regularly find literally copy-pasted into online sellers’ descriptions; without acknowledging that it was not them who researched and wrote those lines.

A special shout-out at this point to jewellery dealers with online galleries of traditional jewellery: I know your images are getting snatched, too, and presented in shady online shops as if they were for sale. I feel you!

But: it gets even crazier. I’ve seen people give talks in which their presentation sheets were made of my photos and texts, but without a single credit line. That has happened to other researchers I know, too, one of which actually attended a talk made largely with her material. It made for a super awkward Q&A.

To be completely honest with you, it still hurts each and every time I see my work copied and shared without proper credit. I can’t think of another label to put on that feeling. I don’t mind the sharing itself (on the contrary, I’d say!) but please do me the courtesy of acknowledging my time and effort.

Well, that was it for the bad! After writing 100 posts though, I can confidently say that the good outweighs everything else. So…

…another 100 jewellery blogs coming up!

All of the appreciation, friendship and community (as well as the occasional copyright infringements) I get, signal one thing: apparently, this type of jewellery blog is just the thing people are looking for.

I honestly love receiving your feedback, the friendships that have formed over the years and the lively jewellery discussions I have had. I’ll be blogging away on this end, and I’m excited to continue contributing to the jewellery community of collectors, researchers and scholars.

Another 100 jewellery blogs…? Coming right up!

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More historical background on jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa? Check out the course on Ancient Jewellery!

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Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

What is ‘real’ jewellery?

What is ‘real’ jewellery?

by | Opinion

Value and authenticity

What is ‘real’ jewellery?

Updated Jan 8, 2024

A recurring question I get is whether a piece of ethnic jewellery is ‘real’. Usually, that does not refer to its use, but to the components used: shouldn’t this be coral instead of glass? Why does this necklace include plastic? And the reasoning behind that, in turn, is that glass and plastic are cheaper, economically speaking, and thus of lesser importance. But economic value is not always the main factor in determining whether a piece of jewellery is ‘real’.

Value of jewellery: supply and demand

Economically speaking, the age-old law of supply and demand dictates value. The discovery of new sources or changes in demand can significantly impact the value of a given material. When demand exceeds supply, prices rise, and materials become more highly regarded. Those are the basics.

Anything that people want and is in short supply, is valuable, whether it is Hermès bags or diamonds. Both of these are kept in short supply artificially: there’s a limited number of bags made and the diamond supply is actually vast, but carefully guarded. [1] So, from that point of view, components in jewellery that are readily available (and thus cheaper) are less valuable.

Value of jewellery: peer pressure

There is also the matter of what we want that has a serious impact on how certain materials are regarded. We may not only want something because it is rare, but we may also really want something because we see other people, who we’d like to associate ourselves with, wear or own that something. (basically, that is what influencer marketing is all about)

Take the decline in silver jewellery in North Africa and Southwest Asia after the 1960s for example. When oil was discovered in the Gulf, this new field of work created a huge amount of jobs for migrant workers from across the region.

Those workers returned home with new values and new ideas on how to express wealth, as they had seen during their stay abroad: gold. Silver jewellery was regarded as old-fashioned and was massively sold off to buy new, gold jewellery.

Value of jewellery: new technologies

Technological developments also have a significant impact on the choice of material, and this is where notions of value begin to get blurry.

A great example from Europe is strass jewellery. Strass, also known as rhinestone or paste, is nowadays often looked down upon. It’s not a ‘real’ gem, it is literally glass that is treated to look like a real gem. Many people associate strass with glitzy gaudiness, maybe with cheap jewellery, and perhaps even with bad taste.

But the fascinating thing is that when strass was just invented (by a Mr. Stras, in the 18th century), it was actually held in high esteem. It was not thought of as a mere substitute, it was the real deal in and of itself and up until the 1820s was considered as actual high-end jewellery art. [2]

The same holds true for the use of bakelite in traditional jewellery of North Africa and Southwest Asia, as I have written about here. It may look like a cheap substitute for coral to us today, but back in its own day this was the height of innovation.

Value of jewellery: more than economics

So you see how the blurring of the line between natural and synthetic materials challenges traditional notions of value, and more precisely, how it illustrates that we should consider materials not just from an economic point of view. Equally important are their own cultural context and their own timeframe.

Because when we observe jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia in its own cultural context, and sometimes even in its local geographical context, we see a different notion of value.

Value of jewellery: cultural and spiritual value

Materials and components that we would consider insignificant based on their economic value are strung alongside gold, pearls, coral and other precious materials. Apparently, these components carry the same level of meaning.

Red plastic beads can happily sit next to coral beads because they are both reddish in colour. Aluminium is the material of choice for anklets worn by ritual specialists in Sudan, and iron is the only material that will keep jinn away (why? find out here!). Teeth, thorns, pebbles, pieces of bone and other such materials need to be sourced in a very particular place that is believed to be imbued with magical capacities (see more about that here): they are set in silver or gold with the same care extended to actual gemstones.

Economically worthless materials may hold great value – they are real

‘Real’ elements in jewellery do not have to be the most expensive ones, but somehow, that is how we have come to look upon them. If a piece of jewellery holds components of a ‘lesser’ economic value, we question the entire piece.

And of course, we should always be aware of reproductions or imitations designed to dupe: I wrote down 5 tips to help you recognize reproductions here. But when we look at jewellery in its cultural context, the choice of materials may reveal a lot about personal, local and societal preferences. And that in itself is more valuable than an arrangement of ‘perfect’ elements could ever offer!

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Where to find more on the cultural values of jewellery…?

Never miss a thing on jewellery news? Join the Jewellery List and find them in your inbox each month!

Looking for background information on your jewellery? Have a look at the courses – there’s so much available on the world of the jewellery you love!

More tips on collection management and research? Check this free resource or download the e-book!

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References

[1] You will enjoy Aja Raden’s book Stoned, which dives into the value of precious materials. Be advised though that it contains a number of historical, factual inaccuracies – but the line of reasoning is fascinating.

[2] P. von Trott zu Stolz 1982, Stras. Simili-Diamantschmuck des 18. Jh., p. 113. Antique paste jewellery is getting expensive these days, too.

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

What is ‘research’?

What is ‘research’?

by | Opinion

learning about jewellery

What is ‘research’?

Updated Jan 9, 2024

Giving it to you straight: searching online for half an hour is not ‘research’.

Because as I wrote earlier, your online search results are first of all determined by the language you use to search in (see more about that and how to navigate languages here). Second, the results shown to you are filtered themselves, based on popularity…so you see how that is scratching the surface of everything there is to explore.

Research is the many years spent comparing, finding parallels, diving deep into the cultural background of adornment, speaking with original wearers, learning vernacular names and oral histories, understanding how adornment functions in the world that it comes from.

Don’t get me wrong, the digital world is an excellent place to start! After all, that is where you found me, and there are many platforms and sites that we can all benefit from. My point is that this beautiful online world should be a starting point, there is much more out there. So, here are 5 pointers.

Jewellery research: visit museums and galleries

If you can at all, visit museums and galleries. This is a great way to see many different pieces, from the perfect to the ordinary, and to study techniques and materials used.

An advantage of galleries is that many owners will let you handle pieces, so you can get a feel for their weight and execution. I have learned so much sitting on gallery floors! (it’s not that they don’t offer chairs….somehow I always end up sitting on the floor, surrounded by jewellery)

Another excellent way to learn is to visit other collectors: nothing beats a shared passion for jewellery.

Jewellery research: read

Reading articles and books is so incredibly important, especially scholarly ones. Now these latter are notoriously hard to get by, although more and more academic publishers are seeing the benefits of open access publishing. Look for sources on sites like academia.edu: with a free account, there is much to be found here.

Check your local library, and if you are living near a university, see if their library offers access to a reading room – they probably won’t let you take books home, but some universities actually welcome a larger audience. Museum libraries are a great resource, too!

Jewellery research: read about more than just jewellery

Bear with me: reading about more than jewellery does make sense. After all, jewellery is part of the society that produced it, so diving into its world will help you understand your jewellery better.

When I was preparing my online courses, I found myself reading everything from micro-economic developments to ancient stargazing, and from ancient history to marriage dynamics. Honestly, it’s fascinating!

Jewellery research: talk with people

Attend lectures, workshops, seminars….and ask questions! There are so many possibilities these days, both online and offline, to speak with experts in the field of jewellery.

Attending talks by curators, historians or other experts can provide valuable insights, and if these are live-events, you get to meet other jewellery enthousiasts, too!

But even more important is to talk with people from the communities that this jewellery is part of. Ask, listen, and learn what this jewellery means to its original community.

Jewellery research: yes…do use online resources

That’s what they’re here for! My advice however would be to be aware of the credibility of the source you’re using: who is the author? Is there any form of reference backing up claims? Do you keep finding the same tidbit of information over and over again? That almost certainly points to copy-paste behaviour to fill a blog quickly, or worse, the use of an AI like ChatGPT – you may want to dig a little deeper.

Jewellery research: a neverending story

Finally, research is an ongoing process. It literally never ends. Your views may change as new information surfaces, and your understanding of jewellery may shift continously. But that, in my view, is the beauty of it: I’ve been in this field for over 25 years now and still learn something new every day!

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More tips on collection management? Check this free resource or download the e-book!

Would you like to quote this article? Please do! Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only.

Can I wear ethnic jewellery?

Can I wear ethnic jewellery?

by | Opinion

appropriation or exchange

Can I wear jewellery from other cultures?

Updated Jan 11, 2024

This is a question I get a lot: from dancers, from jewellery collectors, from people interested in other cultures. And the follow-up question is often ‘….or is that cultural appropriation?’In this article, I’ll give you three pointers to reach an informed decision for yourself.

I also get asked ‘why does this matter? It’s simply cultural exchange!’ – well, yes and no. There is a difference between the two, and, being a historian, I’d like to explore that, too. Because that difference is very relevant to how we look at jewellery from other cultures.

So here we go!

Awareness of cultural appropriation in jewellery

Obviously, being aware of cultural appropriation is extremely relevant when working with heritage of other people, and that includes jewellery. But what is, and what is not, cultural appropriation is the subject of ongoing debate.

There are many aspects to cultural appropriation that need to be considered, and there is not a single, straightforward, open-and-shut definition of this complex reality. [1] The point where cultural exchange turns into cultural appropriation, is often oversimplified by presenting these two concepts as equal: ‘People using elements from other cultures is normal. Just look at history!’

I feel that is cutting corners, and so I’d like to explore that statement a little further.

Historic exchange of jewellery styles

Let me be clear: throughout history, cultures have always assimilated elements from others. I talk at length about cultural exchange and influences over the course of millennia in the e-course on History myself for example, and it is actually one of the elements of adornment and dress that I enjoy the most.

Jewellery is a visual testimony to exchange and adaptations, and it is through jewellery that we can literally see how cultures influenced each other. If we never assimilated anything from other cultures, we would probably still be stuck in prehistory.

Change and exchange are normal. They are the one constant throughout millennia of human cultural expressions.

But in my opinion, that is not what cultural appropriation is.

How to recognize cultural exchange

When you look at history, you’ll see that cultural exchange often is for the long run. An assimilated element is here to stay: it becomes fully engrained in the other culture. As such, it may change form, meaning and significance on the long term.

That may be as status symbol at first (‘look what exciting new material I have!’) [2] or hesitantly (‘this might be the fashion of those new people, but I’m not having any of it’)

Cultural exchange does not even have to come about peacefully: it’s not all trade, commerce and marriage, but also wars, conquest and colonization.

Whatever the many machinations of cultural exchange, the end result is often that the assimilated element has become an integral, living and changing part of its new culture, so much so that it in turn may be passed on to yet another culture. Like jeans, or the paisley motif.

How to recognize cultural appropriation

Cultural appropriation, on the other hand, is using something from another culture fleetingly. There are four basic symptoms to recognize this.

1 Short term. One element is taken out of its context and used on a temporary basis, like a pattern in a seasonal fashion collection. It never becomes an integral, living and changing part of its new culture. Like Madonna wearing Amazigh attire for her birthday party: a single occasion without investment in amplifying Amazigh voices (at least, that I know of!).

2 Unequal power dynamic. The party that takes the element, has a bigger platform and more resources than to the party that it is taken from. Think major brands, popstars, but also countries: rebranding heritage dress and adornment to fit a new narrative is a very vicious way of silencing and erasing the culture of entire populations.

3 Profit. There is usually a very clear element of profit for one party. That can be exposure, but of course clearly also financial profit.

4 No fair share or credit. The party that the element is taken from, is not credited, consulted, or sharing in the profit or exposure that the other party generates.

Cultural appropriation is purposefully taking an aspect of another culture to use that for one’s own gain, without credit or a firm grasp on what this actually means in and to its original culture. It is performative only, not intrinsically meaningful.

That is why it is offensive and hurtful: it reduces the values of an entire culture to a quick and profitable fashion or performance statement. It gets even worse when the element is misattributed to another people entirely. More about that is here.

Wearing jewellery from other cultures is not automatically ‘cultural exchange’.

In some cases, the ‘historical cultural exchange’ argument is actually enabling a harmful power dynamic to continue. It’s washing over a deliberate form of capitalizing with an acceptable varnish of culture: it’s historic, so it’s fine.

To me, that is a disregard of history itself. First, there are so many examples of historic realities that are anything but fine. And second, an oversimplification like this shows a lack of understanding of historic processes.

But take note: that argument is valid in the other direction as well.

Not everything adopted from another culture is automatically ‘appropriated’, either: those slow wheels of history are still turning. When cultures get in contact with each other (and we are now more than ever, through social media and the Internet, but also through migration), they will slowly and inevitably absorb elements from one another.

The point is to keep a watchful eye out for fleeting usurpation in an unequal power dynamic with profits flowing in one direction only.

And still, the lines between exchange, appropriation and appreciation are blurred. Cultural appropriation is a multi-faceted topic with many layers. That does not make it any easier, but it should not be brushed aside with a simple ‘it’s the way of history’.

So, can I wear jewellery from other cultures? 

Here are three pointers to make an informed decision.

Is it not authentic, but newly made and inspired by other cultures? Ask if the culture that the jewellery is based on, is acknowledged, shares in the profit or has been compensated for their collaboration in the design. This is particularly relevant for larger brands: small businesses will usually tell you what their core values are and where their cultural inspiration comes from. (although, be advised there are small businesses that shamelessly steal designs from online images, so it never hurts to ask!)

Is it authentic and clearly from a particular culture? Consider your pieces as part of that larger cultural context. Inform yourself about the culture this jewellery comes from as well as its cultural significance. If you’re buying jewellery from a seller in its culture of origin, ask after its meaning, its name and its history.

Treat jewellery respectfully. This is a total no-brainer, but you don’t want to be wearing antique jewellery carrying religious texts pinned on your butt, for example. Basically, you’d want your grandmother’s personal items being treated with love and respect, too, after all, and that is no different for other people’s grandmothers.

With awareness and acknowledgement of the culture your pieces come from, understanding their cultural significance and using your platforms to be vocal about both, you can do both: admire and celebrate beautiful pieces and support and amplify the voices of communities whose heritage this is!

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Never miss a thing on jewellery discoveries, news and exhibitions? Join the Jewellery List and find them in your inbox each month!

Looking for background on your jewellery? Have a look at the courses – from dowry jewellery to amulets, there is so much available on the world of jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia!

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References

[1] An excellent start is this blog, or this one

[2] Wolfgang Grulke shows such incorporation in his book Adorned by Nature

See also this two-part blog by Jenna Nordman on intellectual property and commercial cultural appropriation.

The Bedouin Silver blog gives credit where credit is due! Transparent referencing and citing sources helps us all grow. Would you like to do the same and quote this article? Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

The Bedouin Silver Jewellery Blog: Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on jewellery, informal ritual and collections. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only. Sigrid strongly believes in accessibility of knowledge, and aims to provide reliable and trustworthy content: that’s why the Bedouin Silver blog provides references and citations.