5 practical tips

How to spot alterations of ethnic jewellery

Published Feb 2, 2024

Jewellery has multiple lives. That is what I find so fascinating: it shows traces of earlier lives, other wearers, the choices they made, the changing fashions they appreciated. And during its long existence, it may have been altered. But when is that regular use, and when is it turning into deception…?

Alterations to ethnic jewellery: cultural context

As I have written before, altering jewellery is standard practice – up to a certain point. That is because it served many purposes, including that of financial asset. The financial value of jewellery means it was treated differently than we would do today, and in order to read the traces of these alterations, we need to be aware of their cultural context.

I’ll go over several types of alterations next, and discuss whether these are to be expected, or that they have been willfully applied to entice a buyer.

Alterations to ethnic jewellery: repairs

Repairs are part of the normal life cycle of jewellery. Imagine wearing a bracelet or necklace every single day: chances are you’ll bump into something, a thread may snap, a stone may fall out.

This is then repaired, and sometimes, those repairs are visible. The Yemeni bracelet in the gallery above has a repair, and the copper pin is a replacement. The repair itself has worn smooth: it is an old repair and the bracelet has been worn for a long time afterwards. The Nubian bracelet in the centre has a tear, that has been fixed.

Pins in closures or hinges of a bracelet are replaced often: if a closing pin is not attached to the bracelet itself by means of a security chain, odds are that at some point it will fall out or go missing otherwise.

Stones may also disappear from their settings and get replaced: the detail of a Kabyle necklace in the gallery above, on the right, shows a replacement coral in a setting that was created for a much larger cabochon. Click to enlarge the photo and look at the coral in the star-shaped pendant: see how there is space between the prongs of the setting and the coral itself?

Alterations to ethnic jewellery: traces of economy

Jewellery represented financial value in its amount of precious metal. When you would be needing cash, pieces of jewellery could be sold. And that could also be, quite literally, a piece of an existing jewellery item.

An example are the pendants you see above. These were worn in Siwa Oasis, but also in Libya and Tunisia. The upper right one (click the image to enlarge it) has one of its tips broken off. Nowadays, you will be told that this was to celebrate the birth of a son. Nothing could be further from the truth: these tips were likely broken off when the wearer needed money. [1]

Another example are the bracelets from Nubia. The single bracelet shows clear signs it has been removed: likely, this has been done when part of a bracelet, such as shown next to it, was exchanged for money.

These alterations are also part of the regular life cycle of jewellery.

Altering ethnic jewellery: repurposing

It gets interesting when pieces of jewellery are being repurposed, because their original use is starting to fade. Hair ornaments, for example, were turned into necklaces when the elaborate hairstyling of a culture disappeared. An example of this practice are the hair ornaments from Oman, which have been repurposed into necklaces as I describe here.

The same goes for temporal pendants, like the pair shown above, and large earrings: these are now often sold as bracelets.

And a particular example is the pair of zar ornaments from Egypt, shown above. When you click to enlarge them, you will see that their engraving has literally been cut in half. These were zar pendants, used in the zar ritual, until they became obsolete. They were then turned into earrings, aimed for sale at tourists.

And that is where the regular life cycle of jewellery in its original culture starts to morph into alterations aimed at selling pieces at cultural outsiders.

From the point of view of its original culture, adapting jewellery in order to sell it to a new market still falls under its financial purpose. What use is perfectly good silver lying about when you’re in need of money? Selling it is the logical thing to do, and if altering it aids in reaching that goal, altered it will be! I would do the same.

But for the buyer on the receiving end, here is where it becomes important to be aware that this jewellery has been changed to suit your needs – it would not have been worn as such in its original culture.

Alterations to ethnic jewellery: composite pieces

This is where we move into alterations that have been carried out specifically to make a piece presentable again. Dangles are added, or new compositions are created out of old elements.

An example is the Kabyle brooch shown above. Click to enlarge it, and have a good look at the dangles. They are different in their colour scheme from the main the body of the brooch: the turquoise colour and the orange-yellow are only present in the dangles. The brooch itself has imitation coral, but the central dangle has real coral. They do not match.

These dangles likely come from a post-1962 necklace (see more about those here) and have been added to complete a brooch that has lost its own.

This is a straightforward addition to complete an incomplete piece, but there are far wilder composite pieces out there. Flexible bracelets joined together to form a necklace, caps embellished with just about anything lying around in a workshop presented as ‘headdress’, beaded necklaces with random pieces from another culture strung in….a truly composite is known as a chimera, after the mythical beast, or a pastiche.

5 tips how to spot alterations to ethnic jewellery

So, how to spot alterations and interpret them in their correct cultural context? Here are some tips.

1 – Examine individual components.

Analyze each component of the jewellery individually. Components such as dangles, pendants, finial beads, and temporal pendants should match in terms of size, design, and style. Notice any differences in these components? That may indicate alterations or modifications, as the original silversmith would have taken great pride in the design.

An example is the Yemeni necklace above. Click to enlarge it, and inspect the finials and central pendant. Their design does not match: the finials are from a different necklace. The closure is an alteration, too.

2 – Check for consistency.

Assess the overall consistency of the jewellery. Original pieces are designed to be cohesive, with elements complementing each other seamlessly. Inconsistencies in design, colour, or materials may suggest alterations.

3 – Evaluate wear and tear.

Examine the wear and tear patterns on the jewellery. Original components that have been worn together for an extended period should exhibit similar signs of use. See for an example of two pieces that moved in sync for a lifetime this article. Altered or replaced components may show variations in wear compared to the original parts. An example of such variations can be seen in this article on restrung necklaces.

4 – Consider provenance and documentation.

Yesss, there we are again! Examine any available documentation or provenance associated with the jewellery. Historical records, photographs, or detailed descriptions can offer clues about the original state of the jewellery. That is also why ‘before and after’ photos of any restorations are so incredibly important: they keep track of changes.

5 – Use scientific techniques.

Ok, this is not a possibility for everyone: I’ll be honest, this is something more suited for museums. If feasible, consider scientific techniques such as X-ray analysis or material testing such as XRF. These methods can reveal hidden layers, alterations, or substitutions that may not be visible through visual inspection alone.

What do I need to spot alterations?

…no, you don’t need to set up a lab in your living room! But, fair warning, what you will be needing is something much more superhuman.

First of all, you need to be aware of general designs, shapes, decorations etc. to spot alterations. It always boils down to knowing what you’re looking at. It also never hurts to ask experts for advice, or to look up a book or two. That’s not the difficult part, though. The difficult part comes next.

Far more important is time. Do not be in a hurry or feel pressured to buy. This is the superhuman part: take your time to observe a piece in detail and look really, really well. Patience is a virtue, also when it comes to buying jewellery. We all know that rush of excitement and the desire to purchase, but it is during the ‘buying fever’ that you will overlook the smaller details. (if it’s any consolation, it still happens to me, too!)

On a side note, this is also why those layers of dirt on jewellery are anything but authentic and original: they obscure the details you’ll want to be looking for.

Alterations of ethnic jewellery: a bad thing?

I’d say it very much depends on which stage in their life the alterations were made. In general, they’re part of life. Repairs and repurposing are part of an object’s life and make sense in its cultural context. They also allow us to reconstruct that life, and as such these alterations can be a powerful historic source.

It’s when the alterations start to take place outside of this cultural context, and moreover, when they are being presented to you as authentic, that it matters a great deal.

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More posts on the pitfalls and fun parts of collecting jewellery? Browse them all here!

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References

[1] M.M. Vale 2011. Sand and Silver discusses this. She knows. She talked with actual Siwan women about this and I am in awe of her myth-busting skills!

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].