Antique Tekke Tribal Turkmen Cornelian Gilt Silver Amulet-Kamea Pouch Quran Box

Description

Antique Tekke Tribal Turkoman Turkmen
Cornelian
Fired Gilded Silver
Amulet Kamea Leather Pouch Quran Case, Box
19th cen.
I TESTED IT FOR SILVER BY ACID
TOTAL WEIGHT: 621gr
LENGTH (BELT + POUCH): ca. 63 cm. (24.8″)
SIZE OF PLAQUE ON POUCH: 13.8 x 17 cm. (5.4 x 6.7″)
SIZE OF RECTANGULAR PLAQUE ON BELT: 5 x 4.6 cm. (1.9 x 1.8″)
WIDTH OF BELT: 6 cm. (2.3″)
TOTAL LENGTH OF BELT: 100 cm. (39.3″) CONDITION – SEE CAREFULLY PHOTOS
SOME SMALL DAMAGES. SCRATCHES.
DENTS TO CORNERS OF THE BIG PLAQUE
TWO PLAQUES TO TOP OF RIGHT SIDE OF BELT ARE MISSING
(THE ARE HOLES ON BELT)
ONE KNOB TO TOP OF LEFT SIDE OF BELT IS MISSING
WEAR, RUBBING, STAINS, SOILING TO BELT AND POUCH
“A CHEIKEL, WICH OLDER TEKKE WOMEN SLING ACROSS THE SHOULDER, MIGHT CONTAIN A MINIATURE KORAN OR SURA (PART OF THE KORAN) AS WELL AS SMALL PERSONAL POSSESSIONS”
SEE IN THE BOOK, p.126:
Splendor of Ethnic Jewelry
: From the Colette and Jean Pierre Ghysels Collection by Frances Borel and John Bigelow Taylor (1994, Hardcover)
The Turkmen were pastoral nomads who lived in encampments, raised livestock, bred horses. In order to ensure year-round green pastures for their animals, the tribes moved two or three times a year. While not merchants themselves, the Turkmen were in constant contact with urban populations, and were often involved with providing transport and security for long-distance caravan trade.
Although nominally Sunni Muslim, the Turkmen kept many of their pre-Islamic customs and beliefs, which were often embodied in the jewelry they made and wore. Turkmen silver jewelry carried deep symbolic meanings and often marked an individual’s passage from one stage of life to another. From a very early age, a woman started wearing jewelry whose shapes and materials were believed to ensure her ability to bear healthy children later in life. The amount of embellishments a girl wore increased as she approached marriageable age. Once she had had her first children, and her fertility had been established, the amount of jewelry she received and wore decreased. In addition, silver jewelry believed to ward off evil and illness was worn by men, women, and especially by children.
Jewelry was a significant financial investment, as it was handcrafted from precious materials. There were cases when, in times of dire need, a woman would part with her jewelry in order to help the survival of the tribe. Significant in size and weight, Turkmen jewelry objects were made of silver, decorated with semi-precious stones, and sometimes gilded for an added color effect and value.
For more information, Old Silver Jewellery of the Turkoman, by Dieter and Reinhold Schlechter 1983.