Amulet
1850-1899 (made)
| Place of origin |
This silver pendant, and the other pieces bequeathed with it to the Museum at the same time, is 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.
Although the Bishariya often used gold for their traditional jewellery, unlike almost all other Muslim tribal women, they also used silver, particularly for amulets. This pendant was worn as an amulet, as its name hafayid, which means ‘for protection’, shows. Engraved discs like these are now usually threaded on a necklace, but this was traditionally worn hanging down from the centre of a necklace by a braided leather strap which still survives on this example.
Although the Bishariya often used gold for their traditional jewellery, unlike almost all other Muslim tribal women, they also used silver, particularly for amulets. This pendant was worn as an amulet, as its name hafayid, which means ‘for protection’, shows. Engraved discs like these are now usually threaded on a necklace, but this was traditionally worn hanging down from the centre of a necklace by a braided leather strap which still survives on this example.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Incised silver |
| Brief description | Incised silver disc pendant with a plaited leather strap, Nubia (Egypt or Sudan), 19th century. |
| Physical description | Flat circular silver pendant, chased on the front with a geometric pattern of concentric circles of triangles surrounding a central rosette. The back is blank. There is a heavy loop at the top, with truncated corners, for suspension. A short strip of plaited leather is attached to the loop. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Edmond Dresden |
| Summary | This silver pendant, and the other pieces bequeathed with it to the Museum at the same time, is 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. Although the Bishariya often used gold for their traditional jewellery, unlike almost all other Muslim tribal women, they also used silver, particularly for amulets. This pendant was worn as an amulet, as its name hafayid, which means ‘for protection’, shows. Engraved discs like these are now usually threaded on a necklace, but this was traditionally worn hanging down from the centre of a necklace by a braided leather strap which still survives on this example. |
| Bibliographic reference | Enchanted Jewellery of Egypt
Page 131
Illustration of a Bishariya woman wearing a pendant of this kind and other associated jewellery in the V&A collection.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 282-1904 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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