Traditional Family Jewelry

[Looya]

After seeing everyone's reaction to the traditional piece of jewelry that Queen Mahra showed in jewelry collection thread, I decided to show you guys more
This kind of jewelry was usually bought to be worn on the wedding day (the traditional night). Our collection is rather small, as my mother did not wear very traditional jewelry in her wedding (I will be showing you pictures of what she wore). The pieces you'll see are considered children's size. They were worn by my sisters and myself during the many national occasions, that used to take place at school, or the national holidays when we were kids, and they are usually worn along with a fully tradition attire. If i ever found a photograph of myself or one of my sisters wearing the full costume I'll definitely upload it to show it to you
(I'm starting to think that I should brake into one of my grandmothers' safes with my camera and show you the real stuff )


The first piece is called "Merta'asha".. literal translation: The Shaky
It is worn like a choker and the golden fringe hangs loose on the chest area. The fringe comes in many different lengths, from as short as an inch to very long where it hangs just above the waist!

[Looya]

the images i attached did not appear in the earlier post for some reason..
I'm new at this

[Looya]

This is one of the several types of head jewelry. I can't recall the name of this particular one, I'll have to ask my mum..
The horizontal part is put on the head, like a headband, and is attached to the earrings. The triangular piece hangs on the forehead. The following links are images I found on flickr that show those jewelry worn by little girls:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5oo5a/1360078673/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webmonk/31434647/

The head gold jewel worn by the girl in the second link is kinda big for her size.

[chinadoll724]

Wow! That's a lot of gold. It's so beautiful and intricate! Maybe you can help educate me- are these types of pieces only worn by the children of affluent families or is it very common that each family has a collection of traditional jewelry?

Thank you for sharing.

[tokyogirl]

Beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing, and look forward to additional pics!!

[risingsun]

Beautiful!!

[twigski]

Pretty!!

[Looya]

Originally Posted by chinadoll724

Wow! That's a lot of gold. It's so beautiful and intricate! Maybe you can help educate me- are these types of pieces only worn by the children of affluent families or is it very common that each family has a collection of traditional jewelry? Thank you for sharing.

Well its pretty common, families who could afford it of course and sometimes it is passed down from parent to daughter/daughter-in-law or given as a wedding gift by the parents or in-laws as it used to be the case in the olden days, but sizes of the jewelry may vary.

[Looya]

Thank you all for your sweet comments
I'll be adding more pics in a few..

[Samia]

Welcome! Nice traditional pieces there, would love to see more!

[Looya]

Another piece of jewelry is the traditional bracelet called "Hab Elhail". Literal translation: Cardamom Pods
It is often worn in both hands with the full traditional attire. This was one of my mother's wedding gifts from her mother about 25 years ago.

The necklace is called "Setamy" or "Helal", which is arabic for Crescent. It was one of the wedding gifts my mum got from her mother-in-law (my grandmother). Notice the old stone setting techniques which are still used in traditional jewelry nowadays. Almost all old traditional jewelry need to be taken to the jeweler's every now and then for stone resetting.

[elizat]

Lots and lots of gold! Thanks for sharing- a lot of really unique things!

[thegraceful1]

Wow.... beautiful design and pieces ( I wish - I had a family traditional jewelry), are these pieces made of gold and gemstones?

[Peachy Mary]

I used to say gold was not my thing but... oh my, those are beautiful, and soooo femininie!

the Merta'asha sounds really nice, I wish I had one

Thank you for sharing!!

[Bagluvluv]

Wow!!! I love them!!! Thanks for sharing!!!