A Berber Necklace with five Pendants

Necklace with five jewelry pendants Berber, Sahel Ohne Sockel / without base Silver, coral. H 6,5 cm. L 21 cm. Provenance: Helmut (1931-2021) and Marianne Zimmer, Zurich. Jewelry in various forms and materials has always accompanied and fascinated people of all cultures. In the areas influenced by Islam, silver was traditionally preferred to gold in jewelry making. The reason for this was that this shiny white precious metal was said to be pure and to promise its owner luck and prosperity. From a cultural point of view, however, bangles, anklets, amulets and necklaces are much more than just pieces of jewelry. In large parts of Africa, the precious objects are not only valued for their beauty, but are also worn as magical, protective and power-giving objects, which were also used as a means of exchange and payment. The ornaments are part of religious beliefs and symbolize rank and affiliation of the wearers. Furthermore, healers prescribe the wearing of protective jewelry for recovery and to avert disaster. Due to the value of the processed raw materials, such jewelry was also a store of value and was used in trade as pre-coinage currency. This so-called primitive money was cast or forged into standardized forms and exchanged over long distances. The use of imported copper alloy manillas as items of exchange dates back in Africa to at least the 16th century, when the Portuguese established trading posts in West Africa. Over the course of time, these imported goods were repeatedly melted down and further processed. New shapes were created and other materials, such as iron, were increasingly traded in the same way. At the beginning of the 20th century, most colonial powers banned jewelry hoops and other forms of money as a means of payment in order to establish their own currencies. Further reading: Borel, France (1999). Jewelry. Treasures from Africa, Asia, Oceania and America. From the Ghysels Collection. Ostfildern-Ruit: Hatje Cantz. CHF 100 / 200 EUR 100 / 200