Ethnic Silver





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 Bazaar don’t need any promotion. You can spend days and always find something new. I like as well to roam the streets of Karaköy and Beyoglu. I happened to be there at Bayram (Eid-al-Adha), the feast to commemorate Abraham's sacrifice of his son by slaughtering a sheep. Painted sheep trotting along the modern streets on their way to be slaughtered for the feast were a sight to behold.


The true wonderland of bazaars I discovered in Iran. Every town has a bazaar where people buy for their daily needs and tourists are still a minority. One of the most seducing is the bazaar of Isfahan.









For a perfect eyeliner there is nothing better that powdered khol from Iran. You get it in beautiful recipients. Mine is made of carved brass and married temporarily an African comb for the sake of the photo.








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