Around the World in 80 Dresses

In Borneo extremely heavy earrings made from brass were in fashion. I don’t know how the Dayak people could wear them without tearing their earlobes to pieces. My Bambara lady from Mali made a detour to Afghanistan and put on a richly decorated belt with deep blue glass beads.                                                                                                                                                                       In Guatemala I chased a silver brooch with image of a Mayan god, but I could not find one I liked. Instead, my Guatemalan host showed me a park in the middle of Guatemala City where a group of Indians happened to worship their ancient gods and Christian saints in a syncretistic celebration with dancing and singing.   A modern take on silver caught my eye at a tiny jewellery shop in Medellín. This Colombian town was a happy revelation for me. A lot has been done to connect the poorest barrio

Ethnic silver jewellery used to be a sort of insurance for women in many countries. Traditionally they would not work but stay at home and raise the children. Depending on the culture they got silver jewellery as a dowry or as a bride price to protect them from poverty should their husband die prematurely or divorce them. Therefore, ethnic silver jewellery makes always a statement. The more silver got into a piece and the more intricately it was decorated the better. Arabic pieces often have Quran verses inserted in small tubes or engraved on coins. On a visit to Santiago de Chile to see my daughter on her internship I found the crocodile brooch decorated with turquoise and lapis lazuli at the wonderful Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago de Chile. My pieces come from countries as diverse as Egypt, Syria, Afghanistan, Morocco, Turkey, Iran, Argentina, Chile, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and China. ©sergom5, pixabay The labyrinths of Istanbul’s Grand