Ladakh Lointain

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Cultures & People, Reviews

A journey in photographs

Ladakh Lointain

Published on August 14, 2024

A massive book with hundreds of photos from a corner of the world that is not too often addressed: Ladakh, in the northernmost part of India. This book is the result of three journeys made between 1979 and 1981.

Ladakh Lointain: a personal journey

Photographs made during three private journeys form the basis of this huge and heavy book: 600 pages, hardbound, a volume that weighs several kilos. The photo below will give you an idea of this massive book, with a few rings added for scale.

Ladakh Lointain means ‘Distant Ladakh’ in French: distant, both because of the actual distance, but also because the photos included in the book show Ladakh as it was 50 years ago.

The photos were taken by Anne-Marie and Roland Gillion Crowet, and if that name rings a bell, that makes sense: the Gillion Crowets avidly collected jewellery, and you may have seen the book Berber Memories on their splendid collection of Amazigh jewellery from Morocco.

Ladakh Lointain: the outline

The book is divided into three main parts, organised roughly geographically, but also thematically. Each part starts with an introduction on the region, and mixes general historical research with personal memories. That makes the texts a highly personal read – the book expressly states that it does not aim to be a scholarly publication, but rather an annotated collection of photos. In that respect, it is different from the detailed and well-researched Berber Memories – it’s another genre.

First, the focus is on photos of the landscape and architecture of Ladakh. The second part zooms in on photos of the Ladakhi people themselves, and in the third part images of monasteries and festival are central. That is a very loose division, by the way, you will find all subjects in all parts, but the emphasis is slightly different in each part.

The photos themselves take up most of the book, and here its large format works so well! Having travelled on the other side of the Himalaya myself, through the Pamir, the Wakhan-corridor and along the border with Afghanistan, seeing the sweeping landscapes brought a sense of recognition.

Journeys into Ladakh

I read this book in tandem with another publication of travel photographs: the photos taken by German traveller Otto Honigmann, who visited Kashmir, Ladakh and Baltistan [1] in 1911 and 1912. Completely by coincidence, this book, too, is written by a relative: the granddaughter of Honigmann’s second wife researched his travels and published his photos in 2010. [2]

Both books start with a map of the journey made. In Ladakh, the Gillion Crowets and Honigmann largely followed the same trail along the Wakha river until Mulbekh, and after that over land towards Khaltse on the Indus river. Both journeys then follow the Indus until Leh, where their paths split. So, even though the book with 1911-1912 photos is considerably smaller, that leaves room for comparisons!

Changing Ladakh

Just one example of both books illustrates the importance of this publication. That is Leh, the ancient royal town, which has always been a crossroads of cultures.

When Honigmann travelled here, he mentioned a summer market filled with people from ‘all over India, Turkestan, Tibet, Siberia and the far ends of Central Asia’. [3] Its inhabitants were speaking Hindustani, Tibetan and Turkish, and were Buddhists, Muslims, Hindu’s and Sikhs.

Almost a century later, in 2008, Nathalie de Merode writes in Ladakh Lointain, Leh was at the verge of disappearing – the photos taken in 1979 still showing the town inhabited and bustling.

This is just one example of why photos, notes taken and memories relived of personal collections are very relevant to keep and publish. They add to historical resources in a myriad of ways, particularly because every photographer has their own interests. For Anne-Marie Gillion, that was people and adornment.

Ladakhi jewellery and dress

One chapter is devoted to personal adornment in particular. This chapter focuses mainly on the perak, the iconic headdress of Ladakh but also, in different forms, worn in parts of current-day Pakistan, as the images by Otto Honigmann show, and in larger parts of the Western Himalaya. [4] This is illustrated with dozens of photos, including details, and is just splendid to look at.

But throughout the book, you will find a treasure trove of dress and adornment because of the personal interest of the photographer. From small kids with chunky turquoises attached to their hat, festive ladies attending the festival of Phyang, a man spinning wool on the go in Leh…there is so much to see in this book.

Bedouin Silver | Ladakh Lointain magnifier

Ladakh Lointain – an important resource for dress and adornment

The photographs gathered in Ladakh Lointain are tribute to a region and its people that have since changed considerably. For the study of adornment and dress, this is a particularly important volume because of its often-candid photos: you will see people from all walks of life, going about their daily business, attending a festival, sitting in front of their home…I may be a bit of a nerd, but I spent many hours peering over photographs with a magnifier, taking in details of jewellery and dress.

It’s also a book that gets one thinking: how many more photo-albums are out there, that no one gets to see? Like the personal archive of drawings of Tuareg culture that I discussed earlier, this personal archive, too, presents us with a unique view on the recent past and as such forms an important historic source. And not just for people interested in other cultures, but also for the Ladakhi people themselves.

Like the earlier publication by the same publisher, Berber Memories, this book, too, is very reasonably priced. If you are working in any capacity with the history of the Western Himalaya, this collection of private photographs is highly recommended!

More about Ladakh Lointain

Ladakh Lointain By Nathalie de Merode and Anne-Marie Gillion Crowet (2024). 600 pages, full-colour, in French. Published by Mercator Fonds: see here for more information and ordering.

I received the book as review copy.

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References

[1] Baltistan is now partly Pakistan, partly India.

[2] Appel, M. 2010. Kashmir, Ladakh, Baltistan. Fotografien von Otto Honigmann. Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, Munich.

[3] Appel 2010, p. 18-19.

[4] Weihreter, H. 1988. Schmuck aus dem Himalaja, p. 110-115.

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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.

Decoding Habiba’s jewellery

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Cultures & People

Travelling with Alexine Tinne

Decoding Habiba’s jewellery

Published March 01, 2024

Dutch traveller and photographer Alexine Tinne did not travel on her own. She had gathered a large group of people around her, and many of these are known by name. One of her companion travellers was Habiba. And from her photos, we may learn more about her as a person.

Habiba: travelling with Alexine Tinne

Habiba was photographed as a traveling companion, both by Alexine herself and by photographers in towns they visited. The photo above (click to enlarge it) was made in Naples, for example. We know her name because it was added to her photos in some cases. She is in several photographs of Alexine’s group, and also features in Alexine’s letters back home.

Where she came from however, is never mentioned. Her jewellery may provide a clue, so let’s have a look at that!

Decoding jewellery: Habiba’s earrings

From a hand-coloured photograph in the municipal archives of The Hague (click to enlarge it), it would appear as if her jewellery was of gold. As all photographs in these days were black and white, it’s difficult to tell if this was actually the case.

Her earrings are of a very specific type. This type of earring was worn in the western oases of Egypt. Nowadays, they are notably associated with Bahariya Oasis. Their name is halaq saqawi, meaning ‘earrings that look like a whater-wheel’. [1] Fahkry suggests the inhabitants of the oases may have purchased them from the Fayyum, or even Cairo. [2]

Although these are most often in silver, they also existed in gold: according to Weissenberger, the difference between gold and silver earrings is that the dome of gold earrings would be executed in filigree. [3]

In Habiba’s time, these earrings were already described by Edward Lane. He does not attribute them to the western oases specifically, however: Lane observed daily life most often in and around Cairo. [4]

Such an earring in gold is shown in the gallery above. The tiny turquoise [5] in the centre of both earrings would keep the evil eye at a distance, as would the glittering of gold in the sunlight and the constant swaying of the dangles. The small discs of sheet gold catch and reflect the light: imagine how sparkling that must have looked on this lady, wearing such a pair!⁠

Decoding jewellery: Habiba’s amulet container

In another photo taken during the same session, Habiba is shown wearing an amulet container. You’ll find it above: click to enlarge it and see its details.

Lane describes this ornament as one of the things a wealthy lady would be wearing. He describes how these containers, called higab, were worn suspended from a silk string. The string would be worn over the left shoulder, so that the amulet container would hang to the right – exactly as Habiba is wearing it. [6]

The case itself, as he describes it, was made of embossed silver or gold. It’s difficult to see, but the amulet case in the image may indeed have been decorated with embossing. It features a series of dangles underneath: their jingling movement would help in keeping evil away.

Decoding jewellery: Habiba’s coin necklaces

But, there are also hints in these photos that although she may have been wealthy, she is not necessarily a woman of the elite. That is mostly visible from the way she wears her headscarf, and her other jewellery.

Habiba is shown wearing necklaces of coins. These are also visible on the photo shown together with the earrings above, which depicts an Egyptian fellaha or farmer around 1870.

And an even more striking parallel to Habiba’s jewellery is found in the photo of the woman above (click to enlarge it): the same earrings and coin necklaces. This is very much a posed photo: the smoking is a tell-tale sign. This photo was taken in the studios of Otto Schoefft. It is part of a series called Le Caire Pittoresque, and most of the photos in this series were taken in either the Cairo studio or the vicinity of Cairo. [7]

Habiba: a woman from the Cairo region?

Based on the way she is dressed, ties her headscarf and selects her other jewellery, I’m inclined to think Habiba is from the region around Cairo. As you see in the photo above, which shows a dress from Bahariya oasis, her dress is different. [8] She does not wear any of the other characteristic jewellery from the oases: and as we have seen, her earrings may have been popular in a far wider region than they are now usually attributed to.

What is noteworthy however, is that she mostly keeps wearing the same jewellery in all photos known of her: the same earrings and necklaces. Only the amulet container is rarely seen.

That overall continuity means that she has not had to sell them – apparently her position as servant in Alexine’s household had her basic needs covered. But on the other hand, there is no increase in jewellery to be observed, so there would not be much to save, either.

In the end, Habiba survived the Tuareg attack that killed Alexine. She inherited a small amount of money, but where she decided to live out her life is not known. I wonder if there are still descendants of hers…!

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References

[1] M. Weissenberger 1998, Le bijou des oasis égyptiennes, in: Bliss, F. 1998. Artisanat et artisanat d’art dans les oasis du désert occidental égyptien, Studien zur Kulturkunde 109, p. 311. Also Azza Fahmy 2007, Enchanted Jewelry of Egypt, p. 91 for an image.

[2] A. Fakhry 2003 (1974). Bahariyah and Farafra, AUC Press, p. 42.

[3] M. Weissenberger 1998, Le bijou des oasis égyptiennes, in: Bliss, F. 1998. Artisanat et artisanat d’art dans les oasis du désert occidental égyptien, Studien zur Kulturkunde 109, p. 311.

[4] E. Lane 1842, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, vol 2, p. 404-405.

[5] Lane describes them with a ruby; a red stone would have had a similar effect.

[6] E. Lane 1842, Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians, vol 2, p. 411.

[7] F. Thürlemann 2016. Das Haremsfenster. Zur fotografischen erorbering Agyptens im 19. Jahrhundert, p. 49-83.

[8] See Shahira Mehrez 2023, Costumes of Egypt vol. I.

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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.

Village life in southern Sudan

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Cultures & People

Early photography

Village life in Southern Sudan: Alexine Tinne’s photos

Published Feb 21, 2024

In February 2024, Leiden University Libraries announced the acquisition of 18 previously unknown photographs by Dutch traveller Alexine Tinne. The photos date from 1862, and show life in Gondokoro, a village in Southern Sudan that no longer exists. And: they capture jewellery, hairstyle and dress!

Alexine Tinne: traveller and photographer

Alexine Tinne was a member of the Dutch elite in the 19^th century. Her father had become rich through the exploitation of sugar plantations. When he died, she inherited a fortune, and decided to exchange her hometown of The Hague for a life of travel and photography.

Photography in the 19^th century was still a cumbersome activity. Instead of automatic presets, you actually had to know what you were doing in terms of exposure and lighting. That all had to be set manually, photo cameras were heavy and large, as were the tripods needed to keep them steady for the duration of the shot (no quick snaps in the 19^th century!).

And instead of a film (anyone remember the day where you had to insert a filmroll in your camera instead of a memory card…?), early cameras worked with glass plates. Besides bringing your own equipment, you also needed the chemicals and tools to develop the images, and understand how that process worked.

So imagine going on a photo journey in the 19^th century: loaded with glass plates, wooden tripods, heavy cameras, tins and buckets of chemicals and darkroom equipment. Alexine dragged all this and more to southern Sudan.

Southern Sudan: early photographs

Alexine set out to travel to the sources of the Nile. She left Cairo in 1861, with a series of river ships, a crew of enslaved staff, and her mother and aunt. The next year, she arrived in the village of Gondokoro: a destination that was known from her travel documentation, but of which no photographs survived. Until these photos were discovered!

These 18 photographs show scenes of village life. All of them are posed: taking a photograph was a time-consuming process, one of the reasons why early photography often shows buildings and landscapes rather than people.

The village itself consisted of both wooden buildings of poles and mudbrick covered walls, and structures of alternating rows of stone bricks and baked mudbrick. You see a glimpse of it in the photo above: click to enlarge it.

In a few photographs, details of adornment can be seen: let’s see what we can make of those!

Jewellery of southern Sudan: bracelets

The first photo above (click to enlarge it) shows two children engaged in hairdressing. The child on the left is picking something out of the child’s hair on the right. Both children wear beaded necklaces, and the child on the left also wears what looks like a single bracelet. But is it…?

The woman holding a basket on her head (in the gallery below, click to enlarge the photo) is wearing three of such bracelets on the arm planted in her side, and one on the arm holding the basket. I included a detail of that photo in the gallery above.

Looking at other photographs in which bracelets are worn, such as the other two children shown above, and more specifically at the shadows cast by the outer rim of the bracelets, I think we’re not looking at a single bracelet, but at a stack of bracelets of the type shown above. These are ivory bracelets from Congo (close to Gondokoro) and southern Sudan. Its name according to Griselda el Tayib is sin fil [1].

It is of course difficult to compare a 160-year old photo with bracelets existing today, but I believe this is the type of jewellery we’re looking at.

Dress and hairstyles of southern Sudan: the rahat skirt

The children in the photos are wearing the very familiar leather skirt known as rahat. An actual example is shown above. This skirt was worn by little girls [2] until they reached puberty: the collection also contains a photo of a young adult woman wearing such a skirt.

Such skirts also survive from archaeological excavations in Sudan and southern Egypt. I have seen fragments of leather skirts during my participation in the study season of the Ottoman leather of Qasr Ibrim, but they also date much further back to the medieval period. [3]

The difference in their hairstyles points to a difference in the stages of their life: the child with the braids sitting on the right is in a different social stage of life than the child with the little tufts on the left.

Adornment of southern Sudan: leather amulet container

The woman holding a basket on her head is also wearing a leather amulet container or higab, hanging from a long leather cord. These have a very long history, and are abundant in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Eritrea.

The photo shows beads and a cowrie shell strung onto the leather cord. The upper part of the leather container seems to be decorated with a pattern of horizontal lines, much like the image of a comparable container on this blog.

Alexine Tinne’s early photos of southern Sudan: a historic source

These 18 photographs are incredibly important. They show us what the village of Gondokoro looked like, and what its inhabitants wore in terms of dress and adornment. I honestly could not be more excited about this new acquisition!

See the press release about the discovery of the photos here.

The photos have been acquired by Leiden University Libraries with financial support of Vereniging Rembrandt, a Dutch cultural organisation supporting the acquisition, research and restauration of art in the public domain.

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References

[1] G. el Tayib 2017, Regional Folk Costumes of Sudan, p. 138.

[2] G. el Tayib 2017, Regional Folk Costumes of Sudan, p. 100.

[3] See this blog by Women’s Literacy Sudan and this blog by Textile Research Centre, Leiden for more on the rahat skirt.

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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.

Sand in my Eyes

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Sudanese Moments

Sand in my Eyes

Published on Jan 31, 2024

Sharing a book with you that I have treasured for a decade: the beautiful photographs of Sudan and its people by Enikö Nagy. Sand in my Eyes presents a unique portrait of the many peoples living in Sudan.

Sand in my Eyes: the photographs

This book is a visual treasure of Sudanese cultures and their diversity. The photos are colourful, lively and full of movement: beads swinging across a head, dust twirling in a wrestling match, cattle moving.

Others are tranquil: a detail of jewellery, a tasbih or prayer beads hung on a tree, hands clasped in a moment of rest.

There is an incredible number of jewellery and dress sprinkled throughout the book: photos of a silversmith in his workshop, men and women wearing beads, bracelets, necklaces…These images, from various parts of the country, present a colourful impression of dress and adornment in Sudan.

And it’s not just dress and adornment, of course: you will read fortune in a cup, travel with herds across the plains, place your sandals at the entrance of a house, drink from a calabash, join in dance, wrestling, prayer and song. Admiring the photographs will take you on a journey through Sudan that feels both intimate and relatable.

Sand in my Eyes: the wisdom

But this book is more than a collection of photos. With every photograph, a quote has been included. This can be a proverb, lines of a song, a tale that has been passed down through generations. Through these, the soul of its people accompanies the photographs themselves.

As an archaeologist, the saying ‘He who has nothing old has nothing new’ (p. 241) resonated with me – but there are many more gems like this!

It is these fables, legends, rituals, poems and other texts bring the depth of Sudan’s cultural heritage across, and that is why this is one of my treasured books: nothing brings you closer to people than learning what they think, believe, wish and dream.

Sand in my Eyes: a portrait of Sudan

This book is a beautiful portrait of Sudan. It contains vibrant photographs of people from over 45 tribes and brings you their thoughts, hopes, fears and wisdom. The texts are both in English and Arabic.

The book is structured in five parts, following the five daily prayers that guide the rhythm of life for these communities. And much to my joy, it contains extensive notes and references, so you will be able to understand the texts in their cultural context – and read more! Especially in these days, seeing the beauty of Sudan and learning about its people helps us feel connected to the many people suffering as a result of war.

I love this book, and I think you will, too!

Sand in my Eyes. Sudanese Moments. By Enikö Nagy (2014). 800 pages, full-colour, in English and Arabic.

Available with the author on the project website.

I purchased the book a decade ago.

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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.

100 jewellery blogs

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Opinion

Jewellery blogging

100 jewellery blogs

Published Dec 29, 2023

This piece is the 100^th 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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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.

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