Patina in Middle Eastern jewellery

Patina in Middle Eastern jewellery

by | Tips for collectors

what is patina?

Patina in Middle Eastern jewellery

Published March 18, 2024

Patina is a word you’ll see used often when talking about ethnic jewellery. It may be described as ‘having great patina’, and collectors may be afraid that cleaning ‘removes the patina’. But what is patina? You may be surprised to learn that it is used for two very different things!

Patina in ethnic jewellery: what it technically is

Corrosion. Patina refers to the thin layer that develops on the surface of metals due to natural oxidation and environmental exposure over time. You could think of the greenish hue that bronze statues or architectural elements may have, for example.

But it encompasses a broad spectrum of colours and textures, ranging from earthy browns to deep blues and reds. Patina is a result of the metal’s reaction with elements like oxygen, moisture, and sulphur. As such, it is technically the same as tarnish.

In some types of jewellery, patina is actually prized: it indicates that the jewel is indeed old. But, beware: there are tons of ways to create a fake patina on jewellery!

Patina, rust, tarnish: what is the difference?

Technically, none. They are all words for the oxidation in metals. But patina is often used for the colour effects in particular, while tarnish is more often used for the oxidation itself.

What is more, patina carries a positive connotation, as something beautiful. Tarnish, on the other hand, is used in a negative sense, as something damaging and ugly.

You will also find patina used for bronze, rust for iron, and tarnish for silver: all three denote oxidation processes and their visual results.

There are many different interpretations of the word patina going around, and to add to the confusion, collectors may mean something completely different!

Patina in ethnic jewellery: what collectors also mean by it

Usewear. Very often, the word ‘patina’ is used for something else entirely in the world of ethnography and collectors.

You will find it applied to a particular type of wear: ‘usewear’ refers to the physical evidence of wear and tear that occurs over time as a result of the item being worn or used in its intended manner.

Patina, in this context, usually means the soft wear on a surface as a result of years of rubbing or handling it. Other types of usewear, such as dents and scratches in a piece of jewellery are not called patina.

Although patina is technically the result of oxidation in metal, you will also see the word used with regard to wooden objects in the world of ethnography.

Here, too, it means ‘usewear’: a wooden handle that has been grasped countless times, will have a beautiful, deep colour and a silky, smooth surface. The same goes for antique furniture where doorknobs, edges and surfaces may show discoloration and a softness after decades of use.

Old silver jewellery in Cairo's Khan el Khalili

Patina in ethnic jewellery: what it definitely is NOT

Dirt. Honestly. Dirt is not patina. Dirt is an external substance that accumulates on the surface of jewellery. Dirt is easily removable with gentle cleaning methods. It does not alter the metal itself, like oxidation does, but can obscure the intended aesthetic of the piece.

Cleaning (see 3 methods how to approach that) can effectively remove dirt without impacting the authentic patina that may have developed over the years. The jewellery you see in the gallery above is just dusty and dirty: this is not what patina looks like!

Patina in ethnic jewellery: how to check for authentic patina

So, as we have seen, there are two types of ‘patina’ you can inspect your jewellery for.

Oxidation – Many ethnic jewellery pieces are made from materials like silver, bronze, or copper, which can develop a natural patina or oxidized layer over time due to exposure to air and moisture. This patina is often uneven and may be more pronounced in areas that have been frequently touched or worn.

Polishing and wear patterns – Certain parts of the jewellery, such as clasps, hinges, or chains, may show signs of polishing or smoothing from repeated use. Additionally, wear patterns may emerge on surfaces that come into contact with the skin, clothing, or other jewellery pieces, indicating areas of frequent movement and friction.

You can inspect an item for traces of usewear by employing various methods:

1 Use your eyes: Start by taking a good look at the jewellery. Carefully inspect the surface of the jewellery under good lighting conditions. Identify areas that are likely to show signs of wear and tear, such as the back of a pendant or the inside of a bracelet, and observe these closely. Look for scratches, patina, polishing marks, and any other indications of use. Note: the jewellery needs to be free of dirt to do this – dirt may actually obscure exactly these details.

2 Magnification: Whip out the magnifier! Check for subtle details such as fine scratches or tool marks. Patina, both in the sense of oxidation and usewear, may have been artificially applied.

3 Feel: If you’re looking to see if a piece has indeed been worn for a prolonged period of time, stop looking and close your eyes. Feel the jewellery: does it feel worn and soft, or do you still feel sharp edges? Open your eyes again and check these places on the jewel.

Patina, whether oxidation or usewear, is often used as a factor in authenticating a piece. But there is more to that than patina: this article gives 5 tips on how to establish whether your jewellery is authentic!

—

Never miss a thing on jewellery discoveries? 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? 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.

The Maria Theresia Thaler

The Maria Theresia Thaler

by | Objects

Coins in jewellery

The Maria Theresia Thaler in Middle Eastern jewellery

Published Feb 26, 2024

The Austrian Maria Theresia Thaler was to become the most widespread and well-known coin in Africa and Asia. It is the first international coin, and it was particularly popular in the Middle East and North Africa. What is the story behind this popular coin?

The Maria Theresia Thaler: its history

The Maria Theresia Thaler gets its name from Habsburg heiress Maria Theresia. Maria Theresia ascended to the throne of the Habsburg empire in Vienna aged 23, on the death of her father Charles VI. She was crowned Queen of Hungary in 1741, Queen of Bohemia in 1743, and bore the title of Empress from 1745, when her husband became Holy Roman Emperor Francis I.  From 1741 onwards, she had her own coins minted.

Maria Theresia ruled for forty years. She had sixteen children, one of which was the ill-fated Marie-Antoinette who would, much later, be beheaded in the French Revolution. But what she really managed to pull off was improving the economic situation of the empire. When she came to the throne, it had serious debts, and it took a determined CFO to get the empire afloat again.

From 1753, the Maria Theresia Thaler became increasingly popular; the empress officially announced the silver content of this and other coins to be minted in Bavaria and Austria, and set the exchange rates and the design standards in a treaty with Bavaria.

Being officially guaranteed and very hard to forge due to the intricacies of the design, the coin quickly became much sought after by traders and merchants. 

What does the name thaler mean?

The word thaler refers to the Joachimsthal (meaning Joachims’ Valley) in Bohemia, and it was here that silver was mined and minted into large silver coins. After the source of the silver, they were called thalers. Soon this German word became the generic term for basically any large silver coin and, as such, was quickly absorbed into various other languages. And you are very familiar with it: this word became ‘dollar’ in English.

Maria Theresia Thaler: enduring heritage

When Maria Theresia died in 1780, the coin was still in such high demand that it continued to be struck, forever bearing the date of 1780. These are called restrikes. It was accepted as official currency in Austria until 1858, when it continued to be in use as official trade coinage, but no longer as domestic currency. Since then, the coin has been in almost continuous production.

It played an important role in the coffee trade, was used in World Wars I and II to pay North-African allies and has acted as official currency innumerable times. Today, it is still used in the markets of Oman as a solid weight to measure silver objects. Actually, it is still produced by the Vienna Mint, and estimates have anywhere between 300 million and a staggering 800 million MTTs in existence today.

Maria Theresia Thaler: its many names

In European shorthand, the Maria Theresia Thaler is often abbreviated to MTT.

The MTT was the most popular coin in circulation in North Africa and the Middle East and went by many names: Abu Tayr (Father of Birds) referring to the imperial eagle; Abu Nuqta (Father of Dots) a reference to the number of pearls on the brooch of the empress; and Abu Rish (Father of Feathers) a name suggested by the eagle’s many tail feathers.

All these distinctive features were used to check the authenticity of the coin. Because, as I will show you later, this coin was imitated as a large scale. In purely monetary terms, the coin was referred to as Riyal Faransawi, (French Riyal) or Riyal Nimsawi, (Austrian Riyal).

Maria Theresia Thalers in jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East

The MTT is used in jewellery from the Maghreb all the way to Southeast Asia. You’ll find it in three ways:

1 – As complete coin. The coins are added to headdresses, necklaces, face veils and even rings. They may have bails added to them to facilitate stringing, or holes pierced into them to sew them firmly to a textile backing.

Usually, the visible side of the thaler is the reverse, depicting the eagle and coat of arms; since representations of human beings are forbidden in Islam, the coin is usually worn with the effigy of the empress on the underside.

2 – Fashioned into another shape. In this case, the coin has been altered, but can still be recognized. Examples are the crosses from Ethiopia, where the central element of the coin can still be seen in the centre (so the portrait of the empress or the coat of arms).

3 – Invisibly. Unbeknownst to most people, the thaler even has an invisible presence. Its high-grade silver content made it the material of choice for a lot of silver jewellery. Occasionally, the coin was fashioned into a pendant, on which traces of the original can still be seen, but the coins were more commonly melted down and reused completely.

Most thalers in jewellery are restrikes, all bearing the date of 1780. That does not mean they are actually from 1780: in fact, they may be relatively new.

Just like the pillar dollar, this coin was imitated very often, too. This was to serve more as a status symbol than as actual currency, and so you’ll find imitations in a varying range of success.

The Maria Theresia Thaler: the most popular coin in jewellery

You’ll see MTT’s used in jewellery very, very often! Sometimes, they have sat together for so long that it reflects in their wear patterns, and sometimes they are so new that the design is still crisp and fresh. Both old and new coins, as well as their imitations, reflect the importance of a steady source of silver for both economical purposes and jewellery: a tradition that has continued for 3 centuries!

This article is based on my book Desert Silver.

—

More posts on the stories objects may hold? Browse them all here!

Join the Jewellery List and receive new articles, jewellery news and more in your inbox!

More on the use of coins in jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa? Check out the course on Dowry & Status!

—

References

[1] Although the pillar dollar was a coin of equal importance, many more books have been dedicated to the Maria Theresa Thaler. See for example Gervais, R. 1982. Pre-Colonial Currencies: A Note on the Maria Theresa Thaler, in: African Economic History No. 11 and Pond, S. 1941. The Maria Theresa Thaler. A famous Trade Coin, in: Bulletin of the Business Historical Society Vol. 15 No. 2. A very helpful book is Semple, C. 2005. A Silver Legend: the story of the Maria Theresa Thaler, Barzan Publishing.

[2] Vale describes how in Siwa oasis silver coins, obtained after selling a good harvest, were sent to the silversmiths to be melted down and turned into jewellery. See Vale 2011, p. 32.

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.

What is dowry jewellery?

What is dowry jewellery?

by | Cultures & People

Middle Eastern weddings

What is dowry jewellery?

Published Feb 09, 2024

Dowry jewellery is hugely important in North Africa and Southwest Asia. Why is that, and what is dowry jewellery?

Dowry jewellery in the Middle East and North Africa

The custom of giving jewellery to a woman on her marriage – the largest gift of jewellery she will ever receive on a single occasion – has a long history in the region.

The dowry gift is generally known as mahr, a term that varies in different languages and dialects. In Morocco for example is it known as sadaq, and in Nubia aba, but the Arabic mahr is understood everywhere.

Dowry jewellery in the Middle East: more than just jewels

The jewellery given to the bride carries far more meaning than your average sentimental wedding gift. This is because the dowry represents a woman’s personal assets, which she retains in the event of a divorce.

And that is tied directly to the value of the precious metal in the jewellery: long before the gold standard, banks and credit cards, wealth was derived from the precious metal content in coins and other valuable objects 0 like jewellery.

The particular gift of jewellery that forms part of the entire mahr is known as shabka in Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, the Arab Peninsula and Jordan. Since the word shabka denotes jewellery, it has also become the general name for jewellery items that were traditionally given to a bride: a silver necklace, earrings, head ornaments and bracelets – or as much as the groom’s family could afford.

And that is also where the lines begin to get blurry, because there is no such thing as a ‘standard’ dowry.

What does a dowry jewellery set consist of?

So, what would be considered a decent dowry? The amount and value of the jewellery presented to brides varies from country to country; it even differs between regions and villages within particular countries. But it is equally important to brides throughout the region and is everywhere the subject of thorough negotiations between two families.

It’s easy to see how here, a conflict of interests may arise: the bride’s family desires her to be financially secure, while the groom’s family may have additional sons to marry, resulting in a greater financial obligation.

So, there is no standard or minimum value for a mahr, although sometimes the mahr of Fatima, the daughter of the Prophet, is used as a measure. The amount of silver dirhams her husband Ali gave her upon their wedding is sometimes converted into the value they would have today, and used as an indication for the size of a dowry.

But in general, much depends on the outcome of the negotiations between the two families and the financial means of the groom and his family.

Providing the dowry jewellery

Having agreed upon a dowry is one thing, but actually providing it is another. The promptness of the dowry presentation differed throughout the region. Frequently, the presentation was divided between the engagement and the actual marriage.

This division can be according to local tradition. In some communities the groom is expected to present his bride to be with jewellery on every milestone event towards their wedding.

But providing the dowry in terms instead of all at once could also be for very practical reasons. Often, the amount of jewellery agreed upon could simply not be acquired because the groom and his family lacked the means to purchase it all.

And so, this would result in more of a commitment than in actual jewellery. In fact, in many instances, the mahr was never fully paid.

In such situations, the marriage contract would include a provision stating that the outstanding amount must be paid in the event of a divorce or the husband’s death. Essentially, this meant that the husband and his family would be in debt to his wife: she would always be entitled to her dowry jewellery.

Interestingly, the failure to fulfill the agreed-upon payment had a silver lining, as it served as a deterrent to future attempts by the husband to take on a second wife. If he could not afford the dowry jewellery of his first wife, how would he be able to offer a decent dowry to anyone else?

Showing the dowry jewellery

Although the size of the dowry varied, it was as a rule always shown publicly during the wedding festivities. A bride would be wearing all her new jewellery, which sometimes resulted in her carrying several kilos of silver. An example is the Yemeni bride shown above (click the image to enlarge it) – she is wearing so much jewellery that she can hardly move.

In other cases, the jewellery was displayed on its own, so everyone could inspect the pieces.

This practice of showing the jewellery served multiple purposes. Clearly, showcasing the successful agreement was a major reason. Showing off the jewellery literally communicates how both families has reached a good deal.

But it also served a practical objective. Displaying the jewellery at the wedding ensured that everyone in the community had witnessed the assets involved. This had a strategic aspect: if there was a need to sell some of the jewellery in the future to address household emergencies, the husband would be indebted to his wife for that portion of her personal capital.

And as everyone in the community had seen the jewellery with their own eyes, there would be no mistakes in keeping track of who was indebted to whom!

In some communities, the dowry jewellery would be marked with a red dot: this would not only keep evil away and add to the festivities, but would also clearly mark the jewellery as dowry jewellery: the unalienable assets of the woman.

After her wedding, the bride would continue to wear her wealth visibly. That includes the use of coins and other silver on dress, veils and headdresses, like the two examples in the gallery above.

Wedding jewellery: relatives and guests

In addition to the jewellery given by the groom, relatives and other wedding guests are often expected to present the bride with items of jewellery as well. These are often smaller than the groom’s gift, but contribute to the bride’s financial independence nonetheless. In the region around Hebron, the bride traditionally wore a miqlab, a piece of cloth that was decorated on the eve of her wedding by her aunts. On it, various silver pendants, amulets, coins and beads were sewn, all of which would later form part of her jewellery. [2]

Middle Eastern dowry jewellery: a complex world

The importance of jewellery as wedding gift is still hard to overestimate. If you have been invited to a wedding, you may have experienced that presenting the bride with jewellery is customary.

There is a world of clever uses of jewellery as a financial asset, inside views on dowry negotiations and its lasting effect in today’s world in the e-course on Dowry & Status: have a look and discover this aspect of Middle Eastern jewellery!

—

More posts on jewellery, cultures and people? Browse them all here!

Join the Jewellery List and receive new articles, jewellery news and more in your inbox!

—

References

[1] For an overview of the dowry in Palestine during several decennia, see Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 230 – 240.

[2] Shelagh Weir relates that the miqlab was worn on the back of the bride during the first wedding-day procession, and on their chests for the final ‘going out’-procession. See Weir, S. 1989. Palestinian Costume. The Trustees of the British Museum, London, p. 184.

 

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.

Spanish pillar dollar

Spanish pillar dollar

by | Objects

Coins in jewellery

The Spanish Pillar Dollar in Middle Eastern jewellery

Published Jan 10, 2024

Here is a coin that has been very popular in North Africa and the Middle East for centuries! And what is more, its name is still pronounced many times a day, and it captures popular imagination – even yours, although you may not realize it yet… But when it comes to jewellery from the Middle East & North Africa, this is one of the forgotten coins. Its obscurity is totally undeserved, however, so let’s look at the many lives of the pillar dollar!

Pillar dollar: what is it?

The pillar dollar is among the very first machine-tooled coins. Before that, coins were struck manually. The size and even the silver content of coins had varied greatly since Antiquity, but these new Spanish coins? They were something else! They always had the same shape, size, weight and decoration – they were reliable. [1]

The pillar dollar was produced from 1732 onwards. These coins get their name from the two pillars of Hercules on the reverse. These refer to the two rock formations in the Street of Gibraltar. You’ll see in the image above (and in the detailed photos below) that the pillars flank a crowned coat of arms: a not-so-subtle way of saying Spain dominated both the old and the new world.

And that new world is where these coins were produced. The denominations of 8, 4, 2, 1 and .50 Spanish reales (pronounced ‘ray-al-es’) were made of silver mined in Middle America. The coins were exported to Europe: just imagine those galleons, loaded with treasure chests brimming with actual money, sailing across the Atlantic….and you’ll get why all the classic piracy tales involve ‘pieces of eight’ – those are the 8 reales coins.

Pillar dollar and the world economy

That eight reales coin grew increasingly popular because its silver content was consistent, and it was widely available. It was, in other words, a stable coin that would not lose its value any time soon.

It was widely used in the Ottoman Empire, and so you will find it labeled with many names in Turkish:  it was variously referred to as kara kuruş, kebir kuruş, tamam kuruş, real kuruş and riyal.

And that is how it ends up being pronounced hundreds of times a day- today! Riyal is a derivate of its Spanish name, real. It remained the word of choice in Arabic to indicate official coins. [2]

Pillar dollars in jewellery from the Middle East & North Africa

Before banks, before plastic money and cryptocurrency, jewellery was the way to go for building up capital and emergency resources. Coins were worn on clothing and in jewellery: as savings, but certainly also to show off.⁠ The value of coins was, like jewellery itself, in their content of precious metal: even when it had been altered, its silver value would still be valuable.⁠ And the pillar dollar was a prized coin, precisely because of its silver content.

In Egypt, the coin was often worn as pendant on a necklace, like the coin shown above. This is an actual pillar dollar from 1817. In Egypt, the coin was called Abu Madfa, Father of Cannons: the Pillars of Hercules were interpreted as cannons.

Because of that interpretation, the coin soon became a much sought-after amulet as well: as cannons are made of iron, a material that jinn are afraid of, wearing a coin that showed two sizeable cannons would surely keep them at a distance!

A Spanish imitation pillar dollar in a silver necklace from southern Egypt.

Pillar dollars: imitation coins in jewellery

Because of this huge popularity, both as currency and as adornment, the pillar dollar was imitated at a large scale. That is more a matter of ‘keeping up appearances’ than actively engaging with counterfeit money – no one expected to be paid in fake pillar dollars, but wearing them sure looked good from a distance!

And for its function as an amulet, it really did not matter much if the coin was real: as long as those pillars were on it, it was all good. The gallery above shows a few of those imitations of the pillar dollar, in varying degrees of success: all of these were used in jewellery and adornment from the Middle East and North Africa.

The pillar dollar: a universal coin in jewellery

So you see how this coin once was of great importance for trade and commerce. But coins like these have many lives: as currency, as adornment, as amulet, and also as collected object. It’s never just one thing, and that makes these pieces so meaningful!⁠

This blog is based on my book Desert Silver.

—

More posts on the stories objects may hold? Browse them all here!

Join the Jewellery List and receive new articles, jewellery news and more in your inbox!

More on the use of coins in jewellery from the Middle East and North Africa? Check out the course on Dowry & Status!

—

References

[1] Schienerl, P.W. 1981. Spanish/Mexican Dollars in Egypt: Currency – Raw material for Silversmiths – Ornament – Amulet, in: Ornament 5 (3).

[2] Some collectors have taken to call the pillar dollar riyal, too, instead of real: an interesting form of reversing this linguistic journey.

 

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.

UNESCO 1970

UNESCO 1970

by | Tips for collectors

collecting jewellery

UNESCO 1970: what does it mean for me?

Updated Jan 4, 2024

You may have heard of it: ‘UNESCO 1970’. But what is that exactly, and what does it mean for owning, buying and selling of traditional jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia? In this article, I’ll walk you through the main aspects.

Disclaimer up front: as I am a jewellery historian, this is not to be taken as legal advice. What I aim to do here, is give you a starting point to make your own informed choices. Just to be clear about that!

Also, this article may not be what you’d like to hear: there are collectors who find all these laws and rules annoying. But here’s the thing: we may not like them, but they exist anyhow, and more importantly: they may affect the future of your collection. So let’s dive into this convention!

What is UNESCO 1970?

First some details. ‘UNESCO 1970’s full name is the Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. [1] It was adopted in 1970 by the members of the United Nations. Its aim is, as the title suggests, to prevent the illegal trade in cultural heritage.

After the Second World War, it became increasingly clear that cultural heritage was looted and sold for profit on a massive scale, as a result of which many cultural treasures left their countries of origin.

And that is not just statues and sculptures and paintings and frescoes: jewellery is a favourite, too. It’s portable, valuable and almost guaranteed to have a buyer.

‘Okay,’ I hear you thinking, ‘but that is about ancient jewellery. Mine is max a hundred years old, give or take, and it is still being sold today!’ You’d be right, and I’ll get to that in a bit – where it concerns antiques, not antiquities, is where it gets interesting.

Is UNESCO 1970 law or legally binding for collectors of jewellery?

No, it is not: it is a convention. Up until now, a little over 100 member states of the United Nations have ratified the convention, meaning they explicitly undersign its goal.

That still does not make it law: every country has different ways of embedding the goals of the convention into their own national legislation on heritage and its import and export.

And these laws are binding for collectors and dealers of traditional Middle Eastern jewellery.

Here lies an important criterion in general, so pay attention to the next few lines: this is where miscommunication occurs every so often.

You will sometimes find advice stating that anything exported before 1970 (the date of the convention) is presumed legal. That is too simple.

It ignores the existing laws of the countries of both export and import. Let that sink in for a moment: there may be laws in the country your jewellery comes from, that predate UNESCO 1970.

Egypt is a perfect example of what I mean. Egypt already legally prohibited the export of antiquities without written approval in 1912, and revised that law in 1951.

Proving an antiquity left Egypt legally therefore requires establishing a chain of provenance dating all the way back to 1912. Looking at you, ‘mummy beads’ and ancient amulets – luckily, the majority of these is fake.

So, always check both your local legislation and the laws of the country you are exporting something from. For vintage jewellery these laws may not matter much yet, but please note that they do for antiquities – I strongly advise against buying antiquities without solid proof of legal provenance.

What does UNESCO 1970 mean for collectors of traditional jewellery?

Under most legislation [2], exporting and importing jewellery of 50 – 100 years old is completely legal. [3] It has not been looted or stolen: jewellery like this has been sold in large numbers from the 1960s onwards, and in some cases even earlier. It was readily available, and continues to be sold internationally today.

It also does not qualify as an antiquity or as an antique – yet. Items that are 100 years or older however, may fall under legislation for antiques.

I want to buy traditional jewellery: what do I need to check in advance?

I would advise to start by informing yourself about legislation in the country you are importing jewellery into.

This includes the definition of an antique (this varies from 100 to 250 years depending on where you are – most traditional jewellery is younger, but remember a piece from the 1920s is now over 100 years old).

Other factors to inform yourself about are

  • the threshold value above which import taxes apply;
  • If an export license from the country of origin is required;
  • Verification that the seller is compliant with export laws of the country it is coming from.

Obviously, this also requires a sound and truthful description of the item you’re interested in: reputable sellers will be able to provide you with parallels and references for an item on which its age is determined.

I know it sounds lovely when a piece of jewellery is from the 19th century, but check if it really is, and if so, if you can actually import it – it may be an antique under the law.

When it’s you yourself buying jewellery in another country and bringing it home with you, informing yourself about both export and import legislation falls to you.

[I can’t stress this enough, so taking another moment to repeat myself: buying archaeological jewellery in another country really is a no-no. You can’t export that without an official license, and the penalties on trafficking illegal antiquities can be severe.]

And finally, keep the receipts and any documentation – imagine your heirs would want to sell or donate a piece in say, 50 years or so: by then, most of your pieces will have become antiques. Your heirs will be needing solid proof you aquired these legally.

So I can buy vintage Middle Eastern jewellery and comply with UNESCO 1970?

Yes, as far as UNESCO 1970 goes you can buy that bracelet or necklace perfectly well, as long as you duly pay your import taxes and ensure you are compliant with legislation on antiques, if the item qualifies as such.

But… UNESCO 1970 is not the only international convention that affects the trade in traditional jewellery. There are the CITES regulations as well as ethics to be taken into account, too, which I will go into next!

—

Never miss a thing on jewellery discoveries? 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? Check this free resource or download the e-book!

—

References

[1] See more about the convention here: https://en.unesco.org/fighttrafficking/1970

[2] Most, not all. Uzbekistan has strict export laws, for example, and buying old jewellery (or old anything, actually, including household appliances) is a legal no-no. These laws are actively enforced, too: I have had my luggage inspected on several border crossings.

[3] Please take note that this does not apply to antiquities. ‘Excavated’ beads, ‘Neolithic’ beads etc for example are antiquities!

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.