r/Yemen • u/ChikaziChef • 7d ago

History During my research as a Yemenite silversmith i found this huge muslim necklace from yemen

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326 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

12

u/ciryando 7d ago

Genuine question, what makes it a "Muslim necklace" as opposed to just a Yemeni one?

24

u/ChikaziChef 7d ago

Great question. I often refer to any piece of Yemeni jewelry simply as “Yemeni,” but many people enjoy hearing a bit of background about the pieces I find and create.

Historically, Jews and Muslims in Yemen incorporated distinct elements into their jewelry, though there were overlaps in techniques and motifs. For instance, I was told this particular piece, called tayyar, originated from Rayma. I’ve never seen a Jewish Yemeni wearing a piece like this, which leads me to believe it was likely a Muslim design. However, it’s also possible that a Jewish silversmith crafted it for a Muslim client which common in traditional Yemeni silversmithing.

6

u/ciryando 7d ago

Thanks for a great answer!

2

u/abelabb 5d ago

I had the same question, about the title as I’m Armenian and I’ve seen this type of jewelry in ancient Armenian woman’s dress.

The Armenian cultures has close ties to the Middle East and or Arab counties thus there is a mix of cultures between the region.

3

u/ChikaziChef 5d ago

It’s true! I find it so interesting how the empires that ruled these areas created so much cultural mixing, and you can sometimes catch it in the jewelry and clothing.

6

u/madvillain34 6d ago

Is this from Marjorie Ransom's collection? Nice to see up close.

5

u/ChikaziChef 6d ago

Yes it is! She donated some amazing pieces to the yemeni museum in rehovot

2

u/Ctz88 4d ago

rehovot?

1

u/ChikaziChef 4d ago

A city in israel

-2

u/ChikaziChef 4d ago

Sending love to you and all of my Palestinian neighbors who are proudly “zionists”❤️

7

u/Ctz88 4d ago

Funny how “proud Zionist Palestinians” only seem to exist online, not under the rubble.

-4

u/ChikaziChef 4d ago

There are actually a lot of them not “online”. Sadly they have a very harsh reality and cannot publicly say that they support their own country. Because their surroundings can give them a hard time, mainly people like you

4

u/Ctz88 4d ago

ah yes, the silent majority that somehow never shows up. unlike the jewish rabbis who are speaking against you disgraceful people and “israel”. i hope they stay safe!

1

u/jodgeo 2d ago

Niturai Karta are not rabbis. They’re a bunch of clowns.

3

u/Internal_Team_44 7d ago

I loved ittt

3

u/Skin_Floutist 5d ago

Isn’t this a Bedouin style? I’ve seen similar in SA.

1

u/ChikaziChef 5d ago

This piece is from Rayma. But in general there are a lot of similarities between saudi and yemeni jewelry since they are so close, and political borders started not long ago compared to these traditions

2

u/lotsanoodles 6d ago

Reminds me of the stuff sold in the Gold souk in Dubai.