- Necklace
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Necklace
- Place of origin:
Nubia (Worn by women of the Bishariya tribe, made)
- Date:
1850-1899 (made)
- Materials and Techniques:
Rectangular beads of sheet gold alternating with cylindrical onyx beads on a cord of braided red cotton
- Credit Line:
Bequeathed by Edmond Dresden
- Museum number:
288-1904
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This jewellery was said to have come from West Africa when it was bequeathed to the Museum in 1904. This was probably a misunderstanding, as this piece, and the others associated with it, are part of the traditional jewellery of women from Nubia, particularly the Bishariya. The Bishariya are a nomadic tribe living in the eastern desert south of the Red Sea, in southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Unlike almost all other Muslim tribal women, the Bishariya preferred their traditional jewellery to be made of gold, although the designs are the same as those of silver jewellery from the same region. Nubia has been renowned for its gold mines since Pharaonic times. The women expected their jewellery to be made from pure gold as far as possible, although it is often beaten very thin.
This necklace, with its mix of delicately patterned gold and cylindrical striped onyx beads, is typical of traditional Nubian jewellery.
