Brooch
1800-1899 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is an example of a thebiximin worn by Kabyle mothers during the first half of the nineteenth century. It would have been worn as a brooch if the child was a girl and on the forehead if the child was a boy. The Kabyle are a Berber people from North Eastern Algeria. The "brooch" is made of silver, decorated with brightly coloured enamelled filigree and set with corals. Coral was believed to contain baraka (good luck) and to protect children and communities from evil.
This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. The filigree and enamelling techniques used here ware introduced to North Africa in the late fifteenth century by Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Europe. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa until the late nineteenth century.
This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. The filigree and enamelling techniques used here ware introduced to North Africa in the late fifteenth century by Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Europe. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa until the late nineteenth century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | This piece was examined by Joanna Whalley, Metals Conservator, in December 2015. She concluded that the piece is made from silver alloy with cloisonné enamel set with polished fragments of red coral (variety: Corallium rubrum). The coral may be identified by its sub-surface parallel wavy growth lines. The coral is relatively poor quality and shows evidence of parasitic attack.
Silver is possibly cast. Cloisonné enamel and silver filigree are well-known techniques of the Kabyle silversmiths in North Algeria. The immediate source of most silver used in popular jewellery was melting down older pieces, or coins. Silver would also have been accessible in mines in the Taza and Atlas regions and coral off the coast of the Algerian sea. Coral was probably hand-cut. |
| Brief description | Type of fibula (brooch), known as a tabzimt (small annular ring brooch), silver decorated with coral and enamel, North-Eastern Algeria (Kabyle), 1800-1899 |
| Physical description | A circular silver alloy brooch with seven pendants hanging from it, decorated with alternate pieces of red coral and cloisonné enamel in blue, yellow and green. The pendants hang from small hooks attached to the bottom of the brooch, decorated either with coral set in a tear-drop shape or with silver filigree work filled with enamel. Small silver granules are positioned around the outer and inner borders of the ring. The central pin bears a hand-cut coral boss. The coral shows evidence of parasitic attack. There are no silver hallmarks or decoration on the back of the brooch. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Object history | Sold to the V&A in 1900 with nine other pieces of central Asian and African dress ornaments by Mrs Maria Eliza Simpson, for a total of £20. Formallly acquired on 22 June 1900. Maria Eliza Simpson was the wife of William Simpson, a well known Victorian watercolour painter and journalist, and a miniature painter in her own right. Letter in the register: 'My husband bought the little cap [739-1900], breast ornament [736-1900] & head dress [735-1900], with large ear-rings [737&A-1900, 738&A-1900] from Turkestan, when with Sir Peter Lumsden in 1884 & 5. Also heavy bracelets [733&A-1900]. The shawl fastener [732-1900] & brooch [731-1900], are of Kabyle workmanship & I brought them from Algiers. Kabyle jewelry will be known by having coral & turquoise settings - Turkestan, by cornelian in silver'. |
| Summary | This is an example of a thebiximin worn by Kabyle mothers during the first half of the nineteenth century. It would have been worn as a brooch if the child was a girl and on the forehead if the child was a boy. The Kabyle are a Berber people from North Eastern Algeria. The "brooch" is made of silver, decorated with brightly coloured enamelled filigree and set with corals. Coral was believed to contain baraka (good luck) and to protect children and communities from evil. This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. The filigree and enamelling techniques used here ware introduced to North Africa in the late fifteenth century by Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Europe. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa until the late nineteenth century. |
| Bibliographic reference | See Middle Eastern section object information file in Metalwork>Jewellery, for Bentley, Tanya R. 'Algerian ring brooch, (V&A 731-1900): Kabyle talisman to Victorian curiosity' 2016 (unpublished MA essay, RCA/V&A History of Design)
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 731-1900 |
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| Record created | March 28, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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