Jewelry and Adornment of Libya

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya

by | Cultures & People, Reviews

Libyan jewellery in depth

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya

Published on November 8, 2024

Libya is home to spectacular jewellery, but very few books are currently available on the jewellery heritage of this country. That has now changed with the much-anticipated arrival of Jewelry and Adornment of Libya: a book that fills a huge gap – and in more ways than one!

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya: a personal view

The author of this book, Hala Ghellali, is from Libya herself: she was born and raised in Tripoli. This is where she first encountered silver jewellery as a young woman, when her father took her to the souq to purchase silver bracelets for her. Personal memories like this form the starting point of the book, but Hala’s background is much wider. You may have read her essay in the Postcard Women’s Imaginarium book, for example.

She was schooled in Tripoli, studied in France, and then moved to Italy, Egypt, Syria and finally, the USA. She is fascinated by Libyan history, both the tangible and the intangible (like poetry or proverbs), and has conducted research into jewellery and adornment for years.

What do you get when someone like that writes a book? A super rich, very detailed book that (at least for me) hits all the important nails on the head when it comes to jewellery research.

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya: the outline

Let me start with one of my hangups: references. You know I love references! Sharing one’s sources when making a claim is very helpful when one wants a book to contribute to common knowledge, and simply necessary when one wants to enable future research. Jewelry and Adornment of Libya is referenced, and here’s the beauty of it: it references sources in Arabic, Italian, French, and English, and provides clear references as to which silversmith shared which piece of information, anecdote or memory with the author. That is different for Libyan Jewellery – A Journey Through Symbols by Elena Schenone Alberini (1998) for example: this has a bibliography, but is not referenced.  

This kaleidoscope of sources results in a solid basis for the research in this book. Hala effortlessly combines observations from travel diaries with patent books, colonial legislation with oral history and poetry, museum pieces with personal memories. This variety brings you a book that is packed with facts and insights on the context of jewellery – absolutely crucial if we want to understand the jewellery itself.

The book is roughly structured in three main parts: the world of jewellery producers, the world of jewellery wearers, and wedding customs in Tripoli. So, let me take you on a quick tour!

Libyan jewellery: the silversmiths

The first three chapters of the book discuss the history of Libyan silversmithing. Here, the book differs notably from Schenone Alberini’s book: these chapters really dive in the history of jewellery production. First, a chapter on jewellery in archaeological excavations and travel diaries outlines the sources that exist for the history of jewellery in Libya. Interestingly, these also include reports by merchants, shedding light on the transactional context of jewellery: who buys and sells these things, and for how much?

Next is a chapter on the production of jewellery itself, both in its historic context as well as detailing techniques. The wealth of historic background is incredibly enlightening. Just one example is how we learn about the close relations between the Jewish silversmithing communities of both Tripoli and Djerba in Tunisia. As so often the case, colonial borders mess with transregional cultural identities: in the case of Tripoli and Djerba, these two communities became so closely entangled that much of the southern Tunisian jewellery was hallmarked in Tripoli. This chapter picks apart how political and economic developments affected both the Jewish and Muslim silver business over time.

I can’t emphasise enough how relevant this is – I see so many online sources and discussions on social media claiming that a piece of jewellery belongs to either this or that nationality, without consideration for the historical context, that it is nothing short of refreshing to see someone patiently walking us through the history of it all and presenting us with a nuanced, detailed view.

There is much more in this chapter: guild organisation, the various arts and crafts production centres, techniques and forms, terminology used by both Jewish and Muslim jewellery makers, all against their shifting historic and cultural backgrounds.

And then there is hallmarks! You know I adore my copy of World Hallmarks Volume II, the fabulous overview of hallmarks from non-Western countries. But Libya is missing from this overview. Schenone Alberini does present hallmarks and adds drawings of both hallmarks and amin stamps, but has difficulty organising the hallmarks chronologically – another gap sorted with Jewelry and Adornment of Libya. Here, we learn of the development of hallmarks throughout and after the Italian colonial period, the difference between hallmarks and master silversmith stamps, and the challenges in attempting to organise hallmarks diachronically.

Libyan jewellery: from head to toe

The book then continues with ten chapters devoted to jewellery itself. From head jewellery to waistcoat buttons to belts, anklets and slippers, in these pages you will find an abundance of jewellery – and its stories. Each piece of jewellery is presented with its vernacular name, there are poetry and song references throughout, and here again, everything is discussed in its historic timeframe. For many names, their linguistic origin is also given, which helps a lot in understanding what these names mean and why specifically they are chosen for a particular object.

These chapters are so rich in their descriptions that I don’t even know where to begin. Let me just say that when you read it all, you will get so much more than just jewellery. There are customs and practices, sayings and Qur’an citations, beliefs and glimpses into everyday life. And the photos! The entire book is lavishly illustrated, with images of private collections that have not been published before, but also with photos of how jewellery is actually worn.

As if that was not enough, the final chapter presents jewellery customs related to engagement and marriage in the city of Tripoli. Illustrated with vintage photos of actual wedding ceremonies, this essay brings us customs and habits that have since disappeared, and as such, this forms yet another important documentation of jewellery in its living, breathing context.

Libyan jewellery research: just in time

That sense of disappearing traditions is present throughout the book. In the epilogue, Hala shares the difficult road towards the publication of this book. For one, archives are not always accessible: in 2011, the political situation changed drastically, resulting in difficult times for those living and working in Libya. Another part of the challenges was the unescapable fact that the last generation of both wearers and silversmiths is disappearing rapidly. Who still remembers songs, customs, memories from before the Second World War? And even more relevant: who is willing to actually share these?

This is a challenge we see everywhere around the globe, and this book illustrates how important it is to incorporate this disappearing knowledge before there is no one left to ask. One of the things I really value is how this book pays it forward to future researchers by including an long list of Tripolitan silver- and goldsmiths in the appendix: we may not yet know when exactly they practised their craft, or what their makers’ mark looks like, but at least, this provides us with a starting point in preserving their names and their memory.

Glossary of jewellery terms

There is even more to this book, I’m not done yet. For me, one of the highlights is the glossary of jewellery terms in Arabic at the end of the book. For those of us who do not master Arabic, these four pages with terminology for everything from earrings to anklets are a major asset. You remember that e-book with jewellery search terms in 7 languages I created to help you expand your online search results? This glossary is a big help with the Arabic terms – do note that it is Libyan Arabic, so regionally spoken, but it is very insightful nonetheless.

So far, you’ll have noticed that I’m gushing. Is there no comment to be made at all…? Very few, if I’m being honest.

If I could ask for anything more, it would be a map of Libya and its neighbouring countries to help visualise where, for example, Djerba and Siwa are relative to Tripoli. As an archaeologist, I would have liked to see more diachronic backup for the explanation of some forms of symbolism: up until now, no one has convincingly shown that some forms of pre-Islamic symbolism, like the triangle for Tanit or the cross-in-circle pendant, have indeed been present as such in jewellery continuously. I lean towards the thought that this is more a case of revival than survival, but that is me. And well, ok, final comment, the green font for quotes is at times difficult to read.

But that’s it – the book design is beautiful, the weight of the paper has a sumptuous feel to it, and it’s a good thing that this is a hardback edition: I’m going to be leafing through it quite often.

For those that would want to compare this to Schenone Alberini’s book: that is gorgeous, too, no shade! But Jewelry and Adornment of Libya goes beyond, is more detailed and specific. I found that reading Jewelry and Adornment of Libya helped me place Schenone Alberini’s book in more context, and increased my understanding of Libyan jewellery significantly.

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya: a treasure of a book

The author writes that creating an exhaustive catalogue has not been her intention: the book gravitates around Tripoli (but does include many other places in the jewellery chapters), there is always more research to be done, and she hopes that researchers will build upon this work. I hope so, too! And with Jewelry and Adornment of Libya, the standard is set high.

Because with this book, you will get far more than a catalogue with Libyan jewellery. You will get a valuable record of the world in which this jewellery existed: its social, cultural, historical and economic context. This is one of the best recent books on traditional jewellery I have read, also because of its clear referencing – and as you know, I have read quite a few. So, whether you are from Libya yourself, a collector, curator or scholar working with traditional jewellery: go on and treat yourself to this book before it ends up out of print!

More about Jewellery and Adornment of Libya

Jewelry and Adornment of Libya By Hala Ghellali, 2024. 180 pages, full colour, English.

Published by BLKVLD Uitgevers Publishers.

Available with the publisher: see here how to order

I received the book as review copy.

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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.

Gold dinars at a glance

Gold dinars at a glance

by | Reviews

Un tresor en or: le dinar dans tous ses etats

Gold dinars from all sides

Published Dec 18, 2023

A small blog on a small book filled with treasure! The booklet ‘Un trésor en or – Le dinar dans tous ses États’, published by the Institut du Monde Arabe, is a lovely, and surprisingly complete, introduction into the field of gold dinars from the Islamic world. It’s primarily aimed at kids, but this slightly older kid enjoyed it, too!

Cover of the book Le dinar dans tous ses Etats

Gold dinars: the stories they hold

This tiny publication presents 428 gold dinars shown in the exhibition of the same name, held at the Institut du Monde Arabe in Spring 2023. In just 47 illustrated pages, it introduces the length and width of the world these coins represent. For example, did you know the word dinar is derived from the coin called denarius in Latin? I love these historical continuities.

The booklet explores where the gold for these coins came from, its preferred alloy, its shapes and inscriptions, but there is much more than that. Each spread in the book covers a different topic: Christian dinars, dinars with zodiac signs, calligraphy, names of sultans and caliphs…and let’s not forget dinars struck by women rulers.

It brings several useful introductory schematics, too: how to describe coins, a map with minting offices in the medieval Islamic world, and a very useful overview of all those dynasties and countries at a glance.

Gold dinars: a tiny treasure

Like I said, this is a very small booklet, but it covers much ground! Although it is primarily aimed at kids, I find it a very well executed example of introducing the span of stories a coin can share to a wider audience. It is accessible, abundantly illustrated, and informative: a tiny treasure in itself.

And that makes me look forward to the forthcoming publication of the coin collection in the Khalili Collections even more…!

More information on Un trésor en or – Le dinar dans tous ses États’

Title: Un trésor en or – Le dinar dans tous ses États’. 2023 47 pages, full colour, in French.

Published by the Institut du Monde Arabe (IMA), Paris.

Available in the webshop of the IMA.

I purchased this booklet in the museum shop of the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

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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.

Oman Adorned

Oman Adorned

by | Reviews

Omani silver jewellery

Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver

Published Dec 15, 2023

It’s a book that has been out for almost 30 years….Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver was published in 1997, but still is on the ‘most wanted’-list for many collectors. What is it about this book that makes it such a must-have, even though it has been out of print for decades?

The book 'Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver' shown with an Omani gold and silver necklace.

Oman Adorned: a hard to find book

I myself have been looking for this book for the better part of 12 years. And when I finally obtained a copy in 2023, I could not believe my luck! So, what’s the big deal about this book? Is it worth the hype?

I’d say: yes, it is. And that is not because I purchased it at a steep price and am now trying to convince myself, rather than anyone else, that it was worth it. (looking at you, new pair of overpriced shoes!) In all transparency, I hit the book jackpot for once, with a bookstore who did not realize the value of its contents for collectors and sold it at a very reasonable price.

Omani silver jewellery: an overview

Oman Adorned presents the silver jewellery tradition of Oman in three parts. These are geographically defined between Northern Oman, Central Oman and Southern Oman.

Where it truly excels, is in providing the cultural context and original names of things. And those names are not just given for the jewellery pieces themselves, but also often for its individual components: beads, dangles, coins…and even the sound some hollow anklets with small pebbles on the inside make is mentioned with its own name.

For each jewel, the book describes how and when it was worn. A large number of photographs shows what that looked like. The introductory chapter brings the history and geography of Oman, and throughout the book its various cultures are presented.

Detail of Dhofari silver jewellery from Oman.

Living Omani silver: trade, background and culture

On top of all this, all three parts of Oman Adorned include background information beyond the pieces themselves. There’s a chapter on silver jewellery for children, and jewellery in relation to the lives of women: how and when they obtain silver jewellery and why.

You’ll also find a chapter on silver jewellery and the Omani zar ceremony, the difference in jewellery and meaning between boys, men, girls and women, and chapters on trade and ownership. You’ll read how babies’ ears were pierced, how anklets added to the festivities of dance, how kohl was produced and hair was braided.

As such, Oman Adorned covers many more aspects of jewellery than just the ornamental. It discusses silver jewellery as ornament, as possession, as amulet, and as part of economic trade and household economy.

And that is what sets it aside from other books on jewellery: many of them present jewellery with only very little information, and this book places jewellery squarely in its cultural context.

Limits of Oman Adorned

As you see, this is a must-have book in its detailed descriptions and background information. And even this thorough work has its limits.

The book is extremely well-researched, but it is not complete. And it could never be, because jewellery is living heritage that changes along with its makers and wearers: creativity cannot be frozen in time, or in book pages for that matter.

As the authors themselves already write in their foreword, there is so much more on Omani adornment they did not get around to investigating. They also note the gaps in knowledge and jewellery as a result of collecting: a super important point that many other books do not address. See more about that here.

They describe this book as ‘a start’ – and if this is the start, you’ll get an idea of how much more is out there…! Incidentally, the wonderful research project on Omani silver carried out by several research partners is a fantastic follow-up: click here to read more about this exciting project! The Dhofari jewellery shown above was on display in the British Museum in the accompanying exhibition, celebrating Omani silversmithing.

Oman Adorned: how to get it

Now that is the most difficult part! The book has been out of print for decades, and getting your hands on a copy is no easy task. Of course, we all hope that we will run into a copy in that small charity shop, at the sale of the local library or in that huge bookshop with second-hand books…but those odds are slim. It does pop up irregularly online, but that is indeed a rare occasion.

Booksite Find More Books keeps track of online bookstores and other digital platforms. They cast their search net wide, and include results from (among others) AbeBooks, Amazon, Ebay and roughly 60,000 antiquarian book dealers. With the search results for your title, it also shows a graph where readers can see how the price of a book develops over time and how often it is offered for sale. The results for Oman Adorned are telling: it has not been seen online between 2016 and 2023.

Oman Adorned: what is a reasonable price for this book?

There is no easy answer to this one! Its current value is determined largely by its scarcity and lack of competition: it’s a rare book, and a very detailed one. Anyone can make a catalogue, let’s say, but this book goes above and beyond that.

But, if it were to be reprinted, and with such high demand I wonder why it hasn’t already, the value of existing copies would plummet. And imagine…if a new book on Omani silver were to be published, provided it matches the detail and knowledge in Oman Adorned, the price would decrease, too.

I suppose the consideration is not so much to see it as an investment. It rather depends on the balance between the value of knowledge and insight, and your budget. For me, this is an exceptionally good (actually indispensable) book to help me in identifying and studying Omani silver. But, although I have come across a few copies incidentally earlier, those outweighed my means. Simple as that.

So, I located it in a library, and went there whenever I needed to look something up. Worldcat is a great resource for locating titles in libraries, but… here as well, it’s a rare title.

Are you looking for a copy of Oman Adorned? Set search alerts online, with your local bookstore, and…keep looking! It may take time, but if I found one, there is hope for you, too.

Do you own a copy that you wish to sell? Contact me and I’ll help you get in touch with people who would treasure it. Again, in all transparency: I will not be selling it for you – I will simply provide guidance on how to find a buyer who truly appreciates it.

Oman Adorned: an exceptional book

Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver is not just a phenomenal book in its wide variety of jewellery types, but very much also because of its rich and detailed social, historical and cultural context. This book is way more than a catalogue of things: it truly is a portrait of this beautiful country as seen through its jewellery.

More information on Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver

Title: Oman Adorned. A Portrait in Silver. By Dr. Miranda Morris & Pauline Shelton, 1997. 362 pages, full colour, in English.

Published by Apex Publishing, Muscat 7 London.

I purchased this book in a second-hand bookstore online.

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Where can I find more on traditional jewellery from Southwest Asia and North Africa?

More book reviews of jewellery books? Browse them all here!

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

Looking for background information on your jewellery? Have a look at the courses – there’s so much available on the world of the jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East!

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

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

Sigrid van Roode

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

Dictionnaire des Bijoux

Dictionnaire des Bijoux

by | Reviews

North African jewellery

Dictionnaire des Bijoux

The Dictionnaire des Bijoux (Dictionary of Jewellery) by Paul Eudel presents jewellery from North Africa. It’s a resource that has been around for more than a century, and you’ll find a downloadable copy for your own use with this post. What does this book offer, and what do we need to know before using it?

Describing jewellery from North Africa: the colonial background

Before you think: ‘Why do I need to know how, why and when a book was made? I just want to see jewellery references!’ – bear with me. Especially with older books, it is important to have some idea of the aim with which they were written. And that is because that aim colours our understanding of jewellery today. So here we go.

Paul Eudel’s overview of jewellery from North Africa was published in 1906. The Dictionary of Jewellery is the product of a project that started well before the 1900’s. Eudel had first published his works on the works of jewellers in Algeria and Tunisia, followed by an essay on jewellers in Morocco.

During this timeframe, the Maghreb was colonized by France. It is against this background that the book has been compiled. Its purpose was not simply to document jewellery from a cultural perspective, but far more from an economical perspective. Knowing what types of jewellery existed and what materials went into them, provided a basis to calculate and impose everyone’s favourite: taxes. Taxes, that would flow into the economy of France.

A dictionary of jewellery: critical reading

The re-edition of this book which I read, features an introduction by Moroccan ethnologist Abdelmajid Arrif. That introduction adds very necessary context to the book. One of the points he makes, is that the very act of listing, documenting and presenting information into a dictionary is a very colonial thing to do.

Now of course every culture on earth has been making lists since writing was first invented. On a side note, writing was invented because humans wanted to make lists – the invention of writing is literally rooted in economy.

It gets colonial when a culture starts making lists of things encountered in another culture: cities captured, enemies killed, loot taken are hot topics in ancient inscriptions. But, also the seemingly innocent listing of jewellery types in a colonized region falls into that category.

Dictionnaire des Bijoux by Paul Eudel, with a Kabyle fibula placed on the cover.

Jewellery from the Maghreb: what do we miss?

So, what are we missing from these many pages of jewellery examples? Most importantly, all cultural context is left out. This book presents an overview of jewellery types and nothing more. It’s a catalogue of sorts. Some entries also tell us where a certain piece was worn, and some even by whom. But mainly, it’s a list of objects.

The oral histories that go with jewellery pieces are missing. Their meaning as wedding or dowry gift, the symbolism in their design, the songs jewellery features in, the art and creativity of the jewellery creators themselves…all that and more has no place in a dictionary. It’s like a phone book, more or less: it simply lists your contacts, but it does not capture their personality or your relationship with them.

Eudel’s dictionary of jewellery: what do we have?

If you have read this far, you might be wondering by now if this book is useful at all. It very much is! The main thing to keep in mind is that this book is not the definitive book on North African jewellery. Obviously, you would not reasonably expect a book of only roughly 200 pages to showcase all jewellery from four countries. But lists often have that effect: if it’s not on the list, it does not exist. This is the third filter of selecting: click here to see how that works!

What it absolutely is very valuable for, is the original names of things. This overview presents us with a wealth of jewellery pieces from the Maghreb, all listed with their own name. These are often missing from today’s descriptions outside of the Maghreb itself, so having access to these is a major advantage.

The drawback is that, well, you’d have to know their name to find anything (it’s a dictionary, after all), but the many illustrations speak for themselves and make it easier to find the piece you’re looking for. And I may be a little bit of a nerd, but I love starting at A and letting myself be surprised by what I encounter!

Those illustrations themselves are also incredibly helpful. A perfume container for musk, called meskia, is depicted both open and closed. The hundreds of detailed drawings bring the jewellery from North Africa to life and show us what they looked like around the beginning of the 20th century. As a time capsule, it is a very helpful resource to get an idea of the date of some jewellery pieces.

Dictionnaire des Bijoux de l’Afrique du Nord: an important resource

With all its pros and cons, the Dictionnaire des Bijoux is an important resource for North African jewellery. It is a starting point for research, in that it offers insight into the types of jewellery in existence in the late 19th and early 20th century. When you’re looking into North African jewellery, this book will be a great help with their vernacular names. And with those, you will be able to extend your search and learn more: see here how to go about that!

As it is an old book, it is widely available in pdf-form, and you’ll find a downloadable pdf below this blog. This is a digital scan of the original book, so in its original formatting and without additional explanations, introduction or indexes.

Personally, I like having a reprint in tangible form on my shelf: it makes for much easier reading and searching. Details of the book that is pictured above in the video and the photograph are below: this edition has been reformatted and includes the introduction by Abdelmajid Arrif, the essay on jewellers in Morocco, and an alphabetic index.

Download the Dictionnaire des Bijoux here

More information on Dictionnaire des Bijoux de l’Afrique du Nord

Title: Dictionnaire des Bijoux de l’Afrique du Nord. Maroc, Algerie, Tunisie, Tripolitaine. By Paul Eudel (1906), with an introduction by Abdelmajid Arrif 2014. 255 pages, b/w with a few colour images, in French.

Published by Editions Frontispice.

Available online and in well-sorted bookstores.

I purchased this republished book in the museum shop of the Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.

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Where can I find more on traditional jewellery from Southwest Asia and North Africa?

More book reviews of jewellery books? Browse them all here!

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

Looking for background information on your jewellery? Have a look at the courses – there’s so much available on the world of the jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East!

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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.

Jewellery clasps

Jewellery clasps

by | European jewellery, Reviews

A reference work on jewellery design

Clasps: 4,000 years of fasteners in jewellery

Every now and then I come across a book of which I think ‘How did I not know of this book before?!’ and this little book is one of those. Le Fermoir en Bijouterie, or in English, Clasps, devotes almost 300 pages to one of the most overlooked parts of jewellery: the way it closes.

Silver bracelet made by Tuful Ramadan, in the exhibition 'Making their Mark: women silversmiths from Oman' in the British Museum

Clasps in jewellery: 4,000 years of history

This book covers the use of clasps and other ways of fastening jewellery from the distant past to our times. From the Bronze Age to jewellery designs of our time, the author covers a multitude of ways to close necklaces, bracelets and anklets. You will see how torcs work, how anklets hinge, illustrated by a dazzling variety of jewellery. That includes a necklace worn by Marjorie Merriwather Post for example, but also a few examples of regional jewellery from Europe and the rest of the world.

This is 4,000 years of history, but apart from ancient Egypt and a lovely excursion to jewellery types of other areas, the focus is firmly on European jewellery: clasps like those of Maghrebi fibulas, or sliding knots from Indian jewellery are not included. That is not criticism, as this book covers an incredible amount of material – I think I’m just really hoping for a Part 2!

Clasps in close-up: photography and drawings

Another thing which makes this a great reference book are the detailed photographs of clasps. The beautiful pieces of jewellery are not only shown in their entirety, but also with focus on the details of the clasp. That means that you’ll see a lot of images of jewellery pieces both closed and open, and with details of that part you never see when worn: its reverse side.

Detailed schematic drawings throughout the book highlight closing mechanisms where necessary. The last part, the glossary of clasps, presents an overview of 25 types of closing mechanisms in chronological order. Each type is accompanied by a schematic drawing of its function. And all of these are shown in use, too, as part of a jewel.

The book features hundreds of pieces of jewellery, dating from prehistory to high-end jewellery of our day and age. You will see museum pieces from archaeological museums as well as contemporary designs and everything in between: think Etruscan gold to Van Cleef and Arpels.

I loved to see the intricacy and clever design of jewellery closing devices throughout history. And because they are presented in such a wide time range, this book allows you to appreciate the originality and creativity that jewellery designers managed to come up with, time and again. A clasp can be part of the design itself, the eye-catching element in the centre or the invisible, innovative solution to wearing a jewel safely and securely.

Clasps to study and understand

This is a wonderfully illustrated book which both jewellery historians and jewellery designers will love. It presents a wide overview of types of clasps and it offers a gorgeous selection of jewellery to admire. Many of which you will see photographed in this detail of their closing mechanism for the first time! This really helps in understanding how a jewel is constructed, or, when you’re admiring a painting or an old photograph, to get some idea on how a jewel is worn. A lot of work went into compiling this book, and I am sure you will appreciate this encyclopaedic overview. For me, this is definitely a reference book that I will pull out often!

More information on Le Fermoir en Bijouterie/Clasps

French title: Le Fermoir en Bijouterie. 4000 ans d’histoires.

English title: Clasps. 4,000 years of fasteners in jewellery.

By Anna Tabakhova, 2019. 283 pages, full colour, in either French or English.

Published by Editions Terracol: click here for the English version, and click here for the French version.

Available with the publisher, online and in well-sorted bookstores.

I purchased the French book in the museum shop of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

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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.