Adorned by Nature

Adornment of the South Seas

Adorned by Nature

Amidst all the glitter of metals, glass and (semi)precious stones, it’s easy to overlook the perishable materials that have been used in adornment for millennia. Organic material rarely survives in the archaeological record, and when it does, it has lost its colour, fragrance, texture and sound. Seeing the splendour of such pieces in all their vividness is one of the many reasons I love adornment from the vast realm of Oceania, and so when I learned of the Adorned by Nature book project by Wolfgang Grulke, I was all too happy to jump aboard and pre-order a copy.

This heavy, full colour book is an excellent introduction into the material culture of the South Seas. The perspective of the book is that of collecting and collections, and the history of collecting is woven into every chapter and theme. This approach also highlights the interaction between creators and collectors, an aspect that is not often illustrated with this clarity in other books on adornment from the South Seas. Just one example is the short discussion on fossils used in adornment on Papua New Guinea, where the development of ornaments from simple containers to elaborate pieces is described as a consequence of dealership (p. 173). Throughout the book, you will find 19^th century collections, notes, and photographs alongside modern pieces and photos – the history of adornment in the South Seas is ongoing and the book showcases these transitions. This is one of the aspects I liked the most about this book, its appreciation of change. Instead of presenting adornment ‘as it should be’, the author places adornment in a context of perpetual development and adaptation.

The book is divided into 4 main chapters. An introductory chapter on the South Seas presents origin stories and other myths as well as aspects of society and rituals from various cultures throughout this geographical area, as well as the history of collecting of adornment. The maps on the inside of the cover are just stunning in their 3D-rendering of the ocean floor and land mass in the curve of the globe: much more than a traditional map, this view is a great visual aid in understanding the spatial vastness of the area presented.

The next 3 chapters are constructed like an encyclopedia or a bundle of essays. Within each chapter, short illustrated texts zoom in on one particular type of material, object or tradition. A very strong point of the book is its use of images: these do not merely illustrate the text, but form an indispensable component of the narrative. The entire book is a visual delight and the illustrations further our understanding of adornment beyond the text itself. It is immensely helpful to not just read about cassowary bones and claws, but to see the creature itself, to see how a Papua spoon is carved out of a shell, to understand which plants, beetles and seeds are used and how these are grown, harvested and traded. I especially liked the part on ‘artificialia’ – non-natural elements that were incorporated in existing traditions, such as chinaware saucers used in kap-kap’s, porcelain imitations of dog teeth and Reckitt Blue facial paint. In these incorporations, we see cultural interaction and its consequences.

Trade, cultural exchange, rituals and traditions are addressed in the last two chapters of the book. Starting out from pieces of adornment again, we learn of brideprice and showing of wealth, the distribution of motifs and materials across long distances and the importance of objects as carriers of personal value. Finally, a postscript acknowledges the perspective of collecting once again, as the viewpoint from a cultural outsider. The personal approach of the author is clearly worded as well as his desire to give back to the community whose material culture he collects and presents in this not-for-profit book.

The value of this book is not so much in its theoretical underpinnings, as these are few and brief, nor in a desire to be ‘complete’. What you will absolutely love this book for is its wide and kaleidoscopic approach combined with its strong visuals. The collection of numerous short essays is an excellent starting point to explore adornment from the South Seas. The author unlocks the world of adornment in bite-sized nuggets of information that are easily digested and understood, all the while containing a plethora of details. The photographs, drawings and diagrams are fantastic and will certainly have you immersed in this vast world of water and islands for hours on end. There is just so much to see in these pages!

If you are just starting out as a collector, this book offers a delightful first introduction to the length and width of material culture of the South Seas. If you are a seasoned collector, this book will line up details at a glance and offer a starting point for more exploration. For this, you are referred to the accompanying website: the book itself has no references or bibliography. And finally, the very last line of the book entertains the thought of a second volume… I am looking forward to it already!

Adorned by Nature. Adornment, myth and exchange in the South Seas, by Wolfgang Grulke.

355 pp, full-colour, in English. Available with the publisher At One (see also many sample pages on the website!) and online.

The book was purchased during the fundraiser for publication.

More books on personal adornment? Browse dozens of titles here.

Join the Jewellery List to have new book recommendations and other jewellery news delivered straight into your inbox!

On a personal note: drawing a comparison between archaeological jewellery of organic material that has not survived and current-day societies that create such adornment is by no means meant to imply these modern societies are somehow living in the past and never made it out of the Stone Age. Quite the opposite, I would say: the mastery achieved in certain jewellery pieces from the South Seas is unparalleled to begin with. The values they express, the networks they are part of and the interaction between jewellery pieces and humans is of a complexity and depth that we could learn a thing or two from when clicking ‘buy it now’ on a random Tuesday evening. It’s these concepts that I am interested in as an archaeologist: not to compare a current-day culture 1:1 with the past (oh look, they make necklaces of shells, too), but to try and get a remote beginning of an idea of how I might look at and understand the past through the lens of the present – not to see the present through the lens of the past. Adorned by Nature offers plenty of food for thought.

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Splendour and Shine II

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

regional dress and adornment

Splendour and Shine

Jewellery and dress are not static. They change over time, sometimes only marginally, sometimes profoundly. Some are ‘frozen’ in a particular form, and some continue to inspire new forms. These changes during a lifetime and exchanges between cultures are the central theme of the exhibition Splendour and Shine in the Flow of Time, that is on view in the Kreismuseum Zons, Germany, during the winter of 2021-2022. I had the pleasure of attending the opening of the exhibition, and brought the accompanying publication home with me: another highly informative read!

As in her earlier publication Splendour and Shine in the River of Time, which accompanied the exhibition in Liechtenstein, Irene Steiner combines traditional jewellery and dress from the German-speaking world with that of the rest of the world. In 9 chapters, the book discusses change and developments starting out with traditional dress that has virtually remained unchanged for over a century and ending with the existence of traditional dress in a global world. The many dresses and items of adornment shown serve as case studies to present a train of thought, and that makes this book densely packed with food for thought. There is not enough space for an in-depth discussion of all of these, but the entire book hands us several points of view and case studies to consider, combining both past and present.

The publication is also a visual reference, as many varieties of a certain type of ornament are shown in the images. The photographs are many and, as a result, often small, but they will bring you a good idea of the wide variety in dress and adornment. Think of buttons, rings, belt- and shoe buckles for example, but an overview of brass dangles that would have been worked into a bridal crown is presented as well, including their various executions and their meaning. In this respect, the book also offers a wide range of research possibilities by showing several examples of details that are waiting to be researched and documented before they become forgotten: how to create such an intricate bridal crown for example, or the meaning and provenance of a certain necklace (p. 46-47). There is still a lot that regional dress and jewellery has to share that is not fully understood, and the book makes an important contribution to the study of this type of heritage in highlighting these possibilities.

What you will get from this book is both an understanding of details of regional European dress as well as many avenues for exploring the themes and concepts beyond dress and adornment: you will find yourself pondering the many angles in this book long after you have read it. I thoroughly enjoyed it as an exhibition publication that goes beyond captioning the exhibited pieces, offering many thoughts on how we regard regional jewellery and dress, and what has created the circumstances under which we have grown accustomed to seeing them in a particular way. Why is regional dress from German-speaking Europe associated with the Oktoberfeste for example, and how did jewellery from North Africa, Southwest Asia and the Arab Peninsula end up in oriental dance? The book is bilingual, and the abundance of photographs will make you enjoy this book for quite some time!

Splendor and Shine in the Flow of Time. Ethnic jewellery and traditional costume in a changing world, by Irene Steiner.

92 pages, full-colour, bilingual German/English. Available with the author.

The book was purchased in the Kreismuseum Zons.

More rare books on private collections? See my recommendations for you here!

Join the Jewellery List to receive updates on new books and exhibitions – never miss out on anything jewellery!

Sigrid van Roode

Lover’s Eyes

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Ancient jewellery, Reviews

miniature art

Lover’s Eyes

The eye has been a powerful motif since the earliest pieces of adornment were created. It protects the wearer and features in either stylized or natural form. At the end of the 18^th and beginning of the 19^th century, a new category was added to this millennia-old repertoire: miniature portraits of the eye of an actual person, so-called ‘Lover’s Eyes’. The book ‘Lover’s Eyes’ presents a superb private collection of these tiny masterpieces.

‘Lover’s Eyes’ is the name given to these jewels, as a love story is what first comes to mind. That is because the most famous commissioner of such a portrait was the Prince of Wales, later to be King George IV: he sent a jewel with an image of his eye to his beloved Maria Fitzherbert. They married secretly and she commissioned a similar portrait for him to carry with him at all times. Over the years, they exchanged several of these jewels, and of the 10 pieces Maria had had created for him, nine were returned to her after his death – the 10^th piece is still with him following his final wishes. But there is much more to them than secret love interests, and that is what makes this book such a wonderful read.

More than 130 eye-jewels from the collection of Nan and David Skier are presented in this book. The book is based on the exhibition catalogue that appeared in 2012 alongside the exhibition ‘The Look of Love’ in the Birmingham Museum of Art, but has now significantly been updated, expanded with four new chapters and additional jewellery pieces. The new chapters open up a treasure of history and background details against which to interpret these pieces.

One of these new essays deals with the settings of these portraits. The eye miniatures themselves are exquisite, but their setting adds to their meaning. In the spirit of Georgian expression, gemstones formed a language as well. The essay ‘Symbol and Sentiment’ explores these added capacities. I found it fascinating to learn that in this timeframe, too, coral was highly valued because of its protective capacities, and as the author writes it is indeed interesting to wonder if a coral setting of an eye miniature protects the person wearing the piece or the person depicted in the piece, or perhaps both (p. 48). Garnets, as a symbol of friendship, may indicate a piece was intended as gift to a close friend rather than to a lover, while pearl points more to love, and so the variety of gemstones present in eye miniatures is discussed.

That same added visual language is also present in the flowers depicted, which is explored in the essay on Floriography. Here, we learn about the history of floral symbolism in England. As the author remarks, there are relatively few pieces that combine floral motifs with eyes (p. 71), which is noteworthy for such a longstanding tradition. I could not help but wonder if the absence of floral language is informative in itself and tells us a little about how these eye portraits were perceived. Flowers communicate virtues and values about a person depicted to the onlooker. The eye jewellery however, while publicly worn, balances on the threshold between private and public: it combines presence with absence, identity with anonymity: could it be the use of added messages was mostly refrained from, so as to not give away too much to the onlooker? It’s just a thought, but this and other topics show how these eye portraits remain enigmatic objects in certain respects. Another tradition that is very much present in eye miniatures is the use of hairwork, as present in the second half of the essay on Symbol and Sentiment. These are not only to be understood as mourning or memorial jewellery – the gifting of hairlocks also occurred among friends and relatives.

The advent of photography is one of the factors that contributed to the dwindling popularity of eye miniatures. Yet, they never disappeared completely, as the last essays ‘Fake or Fashion and ‘Love never Dies’ explore. Eye jewellery was again popular in the late 19^th and in the beginning of the 20^th century, but these miniatures were no longer portraits of actual persons. The book walks us through the differences and development of styles, into the area of falsifications. As with all fakes, forgers are increasingly ingenious, and I found the section on methods to reveal fakes very enlightening: I would not be able to discern an authentic piece from a fake with the naked eye (no pun intended), but I found the discussion very helpful, also in its regard of what actually constitutes a fake. After all, eye miniatures continue to be made today: the exhibition in 2012 itself sparked another round of interest in these objects and inspired new creations reflecting our own timeframe. Here, the original Lover’s Eyes merge with older forms and meaning of eye depictions. The Eye of Time as designed by Dalí for example (p. 105) recalls both eye jewellery from the Mediterranean in its shape as the lover’s eyes in the addition of a teardrop, and the large eyes painted on the cassette ceiling of Blenheim Palace mix the other way around: their general shape is reminiscent of the watchful eye, but they are related to the eye jewellery miniatures in their depiction of the actual eyes of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough (p. 103).

Jewellery, especially talismanic jewellery, tells us a lot about its wearer. This category of jewellery does even more so, as it captures traits of actual persons. They speak of love and loss, and as such hold incredibly personal stories that we may never know in detail. I loved the amount of detail this book provides to place these pieces in context: the other imagery of the time, such as the language of gemstones and flowers or their use as sentimental jewellery. The essays on the ‘Artist’s Eye’ and ‘The Intimate Gaze’ on Richard Cosway, who painted the eye miniatures for the Prince of Wales, shed light on the practical sides of this artistic genre – like the prince ordering, but rarely if ever actually paying.

The design of the book itself reminds me of a jewellery cassette: square and, upon careful opening, filled with wonderfully photographed pieces. The catalogue takes up about half of the book and showcases each piece against a dark background: I found it particularly helpful that the text consistently refers to catalogue entries, which makes for easy comparison. Many of the catalogue entries are discussed in detail in the main text, and where needed, extra information is added in the catalogue section. The book is referenced throughout with endnotes with each essay – don’t miss out on the notes, they contain even more fascinating tidbits!

This is a very complete, accessible overview of one of the most intriguing jewellery types of the last centuries, that should definitely be on the shelf of anyone interested in Georgian and Victorian jewellery, sentimental jewellery or European jewellery!

Lover’s Eyes. Eye miniatures from the Skier collection. Edited by Elle Sushan. Giles Art Books, 2021. 280 pages, full colour. In English

Available with the publisher and online stores such as Amazon.

The book was gifted as advance reading copy by the publisher

More on the symbolism of eyes in jewellery is in the e-course on Amulets, Charms and Jewellery: see more here!

Find dozens of other book titles on adornment to explore here.

A free e-book on amulets in jewellery is ready for you here: enjoy!

Never miss out on new books, exhibitions and other jewellery news? Join the Jewellery List and stay in the know!

Sigrid van Roode

Personal Adornment

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

the construction of identity

Personal Adornment

When you have been reading other articles on this blog, you know personal adornment as a historic source is one of my main research interests. Who are we? Who do we want to be? Who do we definitely want to disassociate ourselves from? How do we want others to perceive us? We use our personal appearance to create our personal and group identity in many ways, but it creates who we are in as many ways. And it always has, as becomes more and more clear of studies into personal adornment in the past. Personal Adornment and the Construction of Identity presents a superb overview of the many possibilities that jewellery research in an archaeological context has to offer. While I speak of ‘jewellery’, the book deals with bodily adornment in the widest sense.

First, let me walk you through the book. This is a series of papers resulting from a conference session, and reading them made me wish from the first page I had had the opportunity to attend that conference! Eight chapters discuss case studies from across the globe and from varying timeframes, and a thorough introduction at the beginning and a concluding chapter at the end bookend these, providing the necessary cohesion between the chapters. On the very first page of text, which is really only just the acknowledgements, the editor Hannah V. Matson expresses her hope that readers ‘will contemplate how items of bodily adornment may serve not as nonutilitarian items of wealth or decoration, nor as symbols or materializations of underlying social relations and categories, but as active and key components in the constitution of identity.’ (p. v): if that does not make one want to dive fully into the pages ahead, I don’t know what does!

So, what to expect in this volume? You will find the first chapter very useful in its comprehensive presentation and discussion of the evolving views in archaeology when it comes to personal adornment. Jewellery is (for the most part) no longer treated as ‘Look, lots of jewellery! This must be a princess!’, but as a very relevant source that ties in with virtually every aspect of past worlds we are trying to understand. Jewellery actively constructs identity, and in a way, reality. Let me illustrate that briefly by means of another recent study, by Karsten Wentink, on prehistoric grave goods including personal adornment. He argues that the deceased were buried with objects that reflected a world of travel and all the social codes that went with that: drinking beer together, extending hospitality, being a gracious guest by sharing stories of places far and wide…Apparently, they expected this for their final journey as well, and personal adornment buried with them was making that a reality for the afterlife.

What I found particularly interesting in Personal Adornment and the Construction of Identity was the section on personal adornment and social memory. Just like ornaments can be actively creating reality, they can commemorate and even re-create a past, and as such are incredibly powerful parts of our lives. Mette Langbroek touches upon this aspect of medieval beads as well in her chapter Beads from Dorestad in the volume Dorestad and its networks. Communities, Contact and Conflict in Early Medieval Europe, and reading a more elaborate introduction in the theoretical underpinnings of personal adornment and its mnemonic modalities through which people (in any timeframe) negate their present was absolutely enriching.

This entire book is filled with food for thought, as you can tell by the number of sticky notes in the above image of the book. We see how in the early Neolithic a shared use of ornamentation leads to new group identities in which hunter-gatherers and farmers interact (paper by Perlès), how dress and language both form deep expressions of identity that disappear together from the record (Olko), how objects of adornment can be group property instead of individual property (Prociuk, which reminded me strongly of how certain healing beads with the Bedouin in southern Palestine are group property as well), the changes in early Medieval society that are not just reflected in brooch types, but actually instigated by them (Glørstad), and many other case studies of jewellery research at its best. This is exactly how one would like to see jewellery studies approached: as an integral part of and source about the past, not just as adornment.

This is obviously very much an academic book, but very well readable due to its clarity of writing (the paper by Cifarelli is the most jargon-heavy in its theoretical approach at times), and the introductory and final chapters both do a great deal to integrate all the fascinating research in between into a coherent framework. Having read this book, you will have a clear and up to date overview of the deep possibilities jewellery research has to offer: not just for archaeological pieces, but for any type of personal adornment. If you are a curator or academic researcher in the field of personal adornment, this is simply a must-read, and if you love jewellery and your interest in its capacities beyond the ornamental has been piqued, this is a great introduction into the length and width of jewellery as a research field!

Personal Adornment and the Construction of Identity. A Global Archaeological Perspective (2021). Edited by Hannah V. Matson.

224 pp, b&w with 10 colour plates, in English.

Available with the publisher Oxbow Books and in bookstores (offline and online) worldwide.

The book was gifted as review copy by the publisher.

More books on personal adornment and archaeology? Find dozens of titles here!

Join the Jewellery List and have reviews like these delivered to you along with other jewellery news.

Sigrid van Roode

Berber Memories

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Berber Memories

private collection

Berber Memories

Updated August 11, 2024

It has been some time since an overview of Amazigh jewellery has been published, but the latest publication of a private collection is not to be missed! The impressive volume Berber Memories presents the stunning Gillion Crowet-collection in nearly 600 wonderfully illustrated pages.

Berber Memories: the outline

The collection itself has been assembled by the couple Anne-Marie and Roland Gillion Crowet during 5 decades of travel in Morocco. It consists of hundreds of spectacular objects, all provided with a caption by their daughter, Nathalie de Merode.

The text of this hefty volume (it weighs several kilos!) is by renowned art historian Michel Draguet. The book is divided into two parts, and I will walk you through both of them to give you an idea of the scope of this publication.

Before we start, it is important to note that the author is an art historian, as opposed to for example an anthropologist or ethnographer. This difference is most noticeable in his choice of words, for example in his treatment of the topic ‘Ornamentation vs Decoration’ (p. 47): the discourse presented there is based on Western theoretical approaches of art. The emic perspective, how the Amazigh themselves experience their jewellery, is not explicitly included here or elsewhere in the book (the acknowledgements do extend heartfelt thanks to quite a number of knowledgeable people).

Speaking of Amazigh, the book consistently uses the word ‘Berber’: although the Amazigh have been rejecting the word ‘Berber’ for quite some time now and reclaim their own name, this is not addressed. It struck me as odd, as this book does much to celebrate Amazigh history and culture.

Berber Memories: Part 1, ‘Gazing’

The first part is an excellent introduction into Amazigh history. Where other jewellery books do not include Amazigh history or present it briefly, here the author takes his time to explore. This is incredibly valuable, as it is a history of exchange, cultural contacts, and adaptations to changing climate circumstances, all of which have left their mark on jewellery traditions.

What is more, this history is not presented as indisputable facts: where conflicting views exist, these are briefly introduced, enabling the reader to obtain a sense of both the ‘unknowns’ of history as well as of the way how any historical tale is shaped by the cultural background of those that write it.

What emerges is a portrait of the Amazigh people not as a monolithic entity, but as an ever-changing, rich ‘pluralistic culture’ (p. 79). Starting out in the Neolithic, the book discusses interaction across the Sahara all the way to Egypt, and later with Phoenician and Roman cultures, followed by the Arab conquests and their profound consequences for the Amazigh, the rise and fall of Amazigh empires, the balance between nomads and city-dwellers, Jews and Muslims, and the adapting and improving of techniques like for example enameling.

The author uses jewellery to illustrate his point at regular intervals, such as the balanced discussion of the khamsa, produced by Jewish craftsmen, worn by Jews and Muslims alike, and incorporating much older beliefs. All in all, this part provides insight in the venerable time-depth of Amazigh history.

Berber Memories: Part 2: ‘Feeling’

The second part introduces the world of women. Here, jewellery is combined with poetry, craftmanship and body aesthetic to illustrate its place in a wider context. This is a hugely important factor that I can’t emphasize enough: jewellery does not exist in a vacuum.

It is closely related to rug making, basketry, clothing, body aesthetic and oral traditions. This wider significance is touched upon here and there in the book, by likening jewellery patterns and styles to other examples of personal adornment and objects in the personal space.

Also introduced are the uses of jewellery as capital, as amulet and as status indicator, before moving to the jewellery pieces themselves.

The collection is presented regionally, starting out in the north and ending in the south. Each section starts with a map of the area, which I love: this way, you’ll get a sense of where the jewellery comes from and how jewellery designs are interrelated. Additionally, on the inside of the cover you will find a map of Morocco, on which jewellery items and drawings of regional dress by Jean Besancenot have been placed –a very helpful visual tool to get a general idea of main regional differences for anyone unfamiliar with the wide variety of Amazigh jewellery in Morocco.

Throughout the book, the historic photographs of Besancenot and others have been paired with the jewellery items shown, which makes for a visual dialogue between the black-and-white photographs and the splendor of the colour images of jewellery.

Berber Memories: the collection Gillion Crowet

Part 2 continues with the presentation of the collection – and what a superb collection it is! Iconic fibulas, stunning headdresses and head ornaments, sumptuous necklaces and rich bracelets form the vast majority of the collection. Each of these has been expertly photographed and displayed in such a manner that the wide variety of techniques, colours and shapes can be fully appreciated.

A very strong point of the collection is that it shows variety within the same type of ornament: for example, the famous worm-hole fibulas are represented by no less than 40 pages with nearly as many different pairs. I find this to be very instructive for the way we look at jewellery. There is not one ‘standard type’ with a ‘standard composition’, which somehow excludes other executions of the same sort of ornament as ‘not right’. See more about how that line of thinking comes about in this article.

The collection Gillion Crowet illustrates the point abundantly, by showing us a wide range of ever so slightly differing jewellery items within a singular type. Here, the art historian expertise of the author is to the advantage of the reader: his descriptions guide the eye and enable us to take in details, appreciate choices made by the craftsmen and see the evolving of styles.

Alongside these jewels, there is a vast amount of information about production centers, techniques used, materials sourced and traded, interwoven with meaning and power attributed to shapes and styles. We learn how climatic, economic and political factors caused silversmiths to relocate, trade centers to flourish or dwindle, and techniques to travel: an exceptional view on the background of these jewellery items.

Berber Memories: the meaning of jewellery

The meaning of patterns, colours and materials to their wearers varies immensely, not only over time but also geographically. This is partly due to the manner in which knowledge about meaning, magic and power is transmitted, both within the culture and certainly to cultural outsiders.

What is a meaningful shape in one region may carry less importance in the next, and what an older generation recognized as significant may have changed for a younger generation.

Another reason for this variety in agency is because it is attributed to objects by humans: they do not intrinsically carry it, which is why they lose their voice if their meaning is no longer understood. Naturally, these meanings and powers attributed to material forms evolve over time, following changing circumstances of the cultures that bring them forth. The book deals with this given in a number of cases, by presenting varying explanations for one and the same shape simultaneously.

This results in a overview of what individual shapes might mean, instead of presenting these as sole truths. Examples are the well-reasoned discussion about the possibly anthropomorphic elements known as atnarich (p. 312), the meaning attached to amber (p. 350) and many other elements.

Berber Memories: a few critical observations

Notwithstanding the importance of this volume, there are a few critical observations to made as well. Every now and then little inconsistencies pop up, like the assertion that Amazigh necklaces ‘generally feature enameled pendants’ (p. 128): the abundance of jewellery without enameled pendants in the book proves otherwise.

Some attributions I can’t quite follow as well, like the statement that the support system of a particular head ornament with three hooks is based on the ‘bulla etrusca model’ (p. 332) – I fail to see the connection, or how an Etruscan chest pendant of 300 BC would be the model for the ‘support system’ of this head ornament. Perhaps there is a similarity that I’m missing, but the direct linkage of Etruscan piece as model for a type of Amazigh jewellery without presenting solid proof of continuation in between is a step too far for me.

Berber Memories – an invaluable reference source

I highly recommend, no, I urge you to buy this book before this, too, becomes one of those sought after out-of-print books that we all know so well: it is remarkably friendly priced for such an important volume. The collection of jewellery presented is outstanding and a testimony to the long and rich cultural history of the Amazigh. Together with the wide historical overview, the wealth of old photographs and the detailed information per region this monumental book constitutes an invaluable reference source for the finest of Amazigh jewellery.

Berber Memories. Women and Jewellery in Morocco (2021). By Michel Draguet.

600 pages, full-colour, available in both French and English.

Available through the publisher Mercatorfonds, distributor Yale University Press and all major bookstores (online and offline).

The book was gifted as advance review copy by the publisher. Images sourced from the publishers’ website.

—

More book reviews like these? Find dozens of them here!

Always the first to receive reviews and other jewellery news in your inbox? Join the Jewellery List and stay in the know.

Collecting jewellery yourself? The Collector’s Handbook is a resource made for you!

—

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, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on the jewellery of the Egyptian zar-ritual. 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.

Juifs du Maroc

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Juifs du Maroc

photography

jean besancenot

Juifs du Maroc

One of the photographers whose work is widely circulated in the jewellery world is Jean Besancenot. His portraits of men and women from Morocco are featured both on the Internet and in books, as they provide detailed insight into how dress and adornment were worn. The Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaisme in Paris has selected a variety of his photographs for their exhibition Juifs du Maroc – Photographies de Jean Besancenot 1934 – 1937. Unfortunately, I have not been able to admire the exhibition itself, but the accompanying publication is a delight.

The main asset of this book, besides the photographs themselves of course, is that it provides personal and historical context to the photographs. This is very valuable, as photographs often circulate in a vacuum and the who, what and why of their background is not always presented. This concise book combines the photographs with original notes from the photographer. These are taken from his 1988 publication Costumes du Maroc as well as from his notes that are kept in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris. Additionally, essays from various other authors provide context to the photographer as well as the world he was photographing. A personal account of the daughter of one of the young men portraited relates how she discovered it was her father – throughout the book the names of the persons portraited are given where possible. An essay about costume and dress along with a glossary complete this exploration into Jewish dress in Morocco.

The photographs themselves are subdivided into several regional areas. First, the cities are presented, followed by inhabitants of the Souss region, the Todhra and Dades Valleys, the region around Tafafilet and finally the Draa Valley. Each photograph is presented with an excerpt from his notes, detailing dress and jewellery items or presenting general observations. We learn for example how Jewish women would use the same facial designs as their Amazigh neighbours, because they shared the same local beliefs; the difference being that Jewish women did not tattoo these signs but painted them on with the paint mixture known as harqus (p. 62 and 108).

This book is not a complete overview of dress and adornment of the Jewish population in Morocco, and is not intended as such. Rather, it offers glimpses of this world through the photographs. By reading the captions and short descriptions with the pictures, you’ll learn a great deal about the names of items of dress and adornment and the occasions on which certain items would have been worn. Through the captions, we also get an idea of what the photographer wanted to convey. Many photographs are indeed posed portraits, but unlike the staged studio portraits we also encounter in North Africa: here, the ladies themselves showed the photographer how a certain dress was worn and what jewellery it would be paired with. Occasionally, the photographer himself orchestrated a picture, like the group photo of several ladies from Tahala (p. 51). His reason for this group photo was to show the abundance and similarities of jewellery worn. The context given about the motives of both photographer and photographed allows us to place the result in more context.

What I liked most about this book, apart from the amount of information it provides, is the incidental candid snapshot. As most of the photographs are portraits, the persons in them clearly pose: eyes downcast and posing with the static awkwardness we all feel when asked to stand still for a picture. But a few photos break this mould: a glance upwards in a synagogue courtyard where a few boys are sitting, a woman pouring water from a container, a radiant smile…

This is a book you will want to add to your bookshelf!

Juifs du Maroc. Photographies de Jean Besancenot, 1934-1937. 159 pp, black & white with a few colour plates, in French. Available through the super helpful shop of the Musée d’art et de l’histoire de Judaisme, Paris.

The book was purchased from the museum.

More books on personal adornment? Browse dozens of titles here!

Get regular updates, book recommendations and jewellery articles delivered straight into your inbox by joining the Jewellery List today!

Sigrid van Roode

« Older Entries

Next Entries »