Brooch
19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This silver shoulder brooch would have been worn by Kabyle women in the first half of the 19th century to affix their robes. The Kabyles are a Berber people from the Atlas mountains in North Eastern Algeria. Silver was a very popular material for jewellery as it was seen as a symbol of purity and honesty and rural Kabyle communities preferred it to gold which they regarded as a sign of vice.
This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa from the late 15th century until the late 19th century.
This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa from the late 15th century until the late 19th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Chased and pierced silver |
| Brief description | Silver brooch, Algerian (Kabyle), 19th century |
| Physical description | Silver brooch with irregular outline, roughly chased and pierced, terminating in a pin throught the base of a ring with flattened ends. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Edmond Dresden |
| Summary | This silver shoulder brooch would have been worn by Kabyle women in the first half of the 19th century to affix their robes. The Kabyles are a Berber people from the Atlas mountains in North Eastern Algeria. Silver was a very popular material for jewellery as it was seen as a symbol of purity and honesty and rural Kabyle communities preferred it to gold which they regarded as a sign of vice. This brooch was probably made by a Jewish silversmith as the Berbers thought working with metal was an inferior occupation. Jewish silversmiths dominated jewellery making in North Africa from the late 15th century until the late 19th century. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 332-1904 |
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| Record created | March 28, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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