Posted 7 years ago
Steptoe1
(1979 items)
Hello I have found this old silver bracelet and am hoping that someone knows where it's from or how old it might be, it was totally black but still needs more cleaning.
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Thanks aura,janca
Thanks vet.
The clasp is a type used both in India & the Middle East. Bit of mixed imagery here as the elephants belong in India while the camels & the central figure wearing the headdress of Nekhbet turn up on Egyptian souvenir jewelry. However, it does not look like Egyptian work. I have seen bracelets that appear to have been made in Turkey with decoration that makes them look Egyptian. My feeling is that this is something similar, meant to look like a souvenir of Egypt, maybe even sold as one, but made elsewhere. It is not like the Turkish ones either. Can you find any marks? Most older Middle Eastern silver jewelry is 800 grade, not 925/sterling.
No cameo I can't seem to find any marks anywhere but did get it checked and it is silver, I also wondered about the elephant connection, this was totally black I think it might be very old
Not surprised it would test as silver, although the simple acid test does not give you the grade & cannot distinguish 925 from 800. Definitely from the Middle East but not Egypt with some age on it, possibly 1930s.
Your bracelet was inspired by pieces like this one, which was made in Egypt, but made somewhere else: http://www.ebay.com/itm/122253007044
Thanks cameo for the great help, good link it looks almost the same ,
Thanks val
I'd say 1930s as well. I have a few from family collections that were brought back from Egypt by an uncle around that time. Two of them are hallmarked and date stamped, the other two have no marks on them at all. If there are any hallmarks, they are sometimes on the outside surface towards the edge - they can be hard to spot!
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/204891-more-1930s-egyptian-silver-filigree-brac
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/202570-another-egyptian-silver-filigree-bracele
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/201398-vintage-egyptian-silver-filigree-bracele
I also have bracelets from 1940s India which have similar push-pin clasps.
https://www.collectorsweekly.com/stories/210081-mid-century-bib-necklace-and-cuff-bracel
Thanks pebble for the great input,help
Pebble is absolutely correct that Egyptian marks on panel bracelets are frequently small, on the front at the bottom of the panel. When looking for them, it helps to know how they look because they do not look like western marks. See:
http://www.ebay.com/gds/Egyptian-Hallmarks-/10000000178591804/g.html
However, Egypt's system for assaying & marking precious metals was developed while the British were running the government. Britain is very fussy about silver (remember, their money system is based on the value of a pound of sterling silver) & set up the Egyptian system with similar rigor to their own. They seem to be almost religious about marking anything that is 600 grade or more. Even 'Bedouin' bracelets are marked.
When it comes to souvenir jewellery, Egypt has been using the same designs & ways of working the silver for at least 100 years. Everything about this bracelet, apart from the motifs & clasp, is different from the way similar pieces are made in Egypt. I am confident it was made elsewhere, but agree it could be 1940s.
Have seen this type of clasp on jewellery from all over the region. India is still putting them on hinged cuff bracelets.