711 - Three Tuareg rings, two of silver, two with carnelian, engraved heads, Sahara, ethnic jewellery

Three Tuareg rings, two of silver, two with carnelian, engraved heads, Sahara, ethnic jewellery Silver (proofed), metal and carnelian. Three Tuareg rings, Sahara: 1) silver (proofed), ring with elongated, shield-shaped, box-shaped head, engraved with a zigzag band and groups of transverse lines, at the centre a group of five silver balls, further balls at the shoulders, wide shank with leaf and arch engraving, probably a loose insert inside the head; 2) metal, ring with a large oval carnelian tablet in a serrated bezel setting on a wide, engraved head, three balls on the rim of the setting, wide, engraved shank tapering towards the band; 3) silver (proofed), ring with a triangular cut, banded carnelian in an engraved bezel setting with grooved band, round shank with line engraving and a small cube as decorative element. Good condition commensurate with age. Inner diameter 1) 19.6 mm, 2) 20.4 mm, 3) 19.8 mm. The Tuareg are a nomadic people of the Sahara who live mainly in Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso and whose centre is the town of Agadez in Niger; along caravan routes through the desert they have always traded their jewellery as well. Tuareg jewellery is made by the Inadan, the artisan caste of the Tuareg, in which the smith's craft is passed down within the families over generations. Silver is the principal material of this jewellery, for among the Tuareg gold is regarded as a negative metal which, owing to its high value, arouses human greed and can lead to violence. Through its colour carnelian is associated with blood and life and has a strongly protective significance; the silver rings with carnelian, called Tassandert or Tiseq, originated in Mali and spread from there across the Sahara. Tuareg jewellery often serves as an amulet credited with the power to ward off misfortune; rings are among the gifts to the bride and equally part of men's adornment, and the geometric patterns of Tuareg silver jewellery reflect the symbolism of the Tifinagh script. Such Berber rings and nomad rings from North Africa are described in the literature on African jewellery, for instance by Angela Fisher, “Afrika im Schmuck”.