:: All prices listed are wholesale to shops :: Retail prices to individuals are twice those listed ::
The first half of this page features jewelry from all parts of Africa.
Please click here to jump down to jewelry from the Middle East, such as
Yeman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan found on the second half of the page.
Tuareg tribe tsabit earrings
The nomadic Tuareg are often called 'the blue people' due to their use of indigo cloth which can leave a blue hue on their skin. Known for being fierce warriors, this is one tribe you wouldn't want to mess with!
Examples of these can also be found on p. 41 in
A World of Earrings, p. 35 in
Ethnic Jewellery,
and pages 202, 210, and 212-213 in
Africa Adorned, which shows them being worn by Tuareg women.
Most Tuareg earrings measure in the vicinitiy of 6 gauge or so.
Women's earrings from the nomadic Tuareg tribe of North Africa, called tsabit.
Prices are $175, $225, or $225/pair, in the order shown for these three different large pairs.
More Tuareg tribe hoop earrings:
The first shows two small tsabit pairs. $100/pair.
The second shows the more typically sized tsabit:
The top pair are a little different from each other and are thus merely $100/pair.
The bottom pair still have quite angular knobs and exquisite incised decorations. $300/pair.
Tuareg tribe traditional women's tsabit earrings, shown in order of weight:
the top left pairs are lightest and the bottom right pairs are heaviest.
Please click these thumbnail images to view versions posted at life size.
More affordable than what we've been able to offer them for in the past... How exciting!
The left-hand image shows six pairs of small to medium tsabit:
.42oz (11.8grams)/each, up to .475oz (13.4grams)/each. $90/pair.
The right-hand image has nine pairs of medium to large tsabit:
.83oz (23.7grams)/each, up to 2.36oz (66.9grams)/each. $125/pair.
The bottom pair, shown by themselves at full size,
weigh .94oz (26.6grams)/each, and are $125/pair.
More Tuareg tribe earrings
Three pair Tuareg tribe thin earrings circa 1970's.
Around 17ga or so. The left hand pair has SOLD. $25/pair.
Old Tuareg earrings with engraving and likely ebony inlay.
<12ga. $80/pair.
Fulani tribe brass earrings
New Fulani tribe (Peul) twisted brass earrings from Mali. Around 15 gauge. $40/pair.
These are newly made versions of the much larger traditional style
gold earrings called kwottenai kanye (kwotene kange).
They normally wrap the tops with red yarn.
Rare tribal silver Ethiopian or Yemeni earrings
This is the first time we have encountered pieces like this!
$50/pair (side and front views shown); the right hand style SOLD.
These measure around 6ga maximum on their coiled wire wearing surfaces.
(The original collector later informed us that these lovelies might actually be from Yemen...
considering their proximity and cross-cultural influences, this is not all that surprising.)
For documenation, please refer to page 57 in
A World of Earrings;
an image of them being worn appears on p. 139 of
African Ark.
Ethiopian women's giant clay lip plates
Six plain dark clay Ethiopian Mursi tribe women's giant lip plates. These run $150-$200/each.
The Mursi tribe words for clay lip plate are dhebi a tugoin (wooden lip plates are called burgui).
Please click on these thumbnails to view images posted at life size of each side and the flares.
Two engraved Ethiopian tribal women's clay lip plates.
Both sides and a view of the flares are shown. Please call for pricing.
The smaller engraved clay lip plate shown on the left has SOLD.
Aluminum Kamba tribe (Kenya) spiked earplug on stand. $60/single.
These images are not shown at life size, although close to it.
It measures 4-5/16" in overall length, and 1-3/8" at the flare.
Beaded Maasai women's upper ear jewelry
Maasai women's beaded upper ear jewelry, all used and worn.
Please refer to them in order as: #A (either $40/pair), #B (left $40, right SOLD $45),
#C both white (left $45, right SOLD $50), #D both white (either $50/pair), and #E (either $50/pair).
Compare this prices to the newly made ones which are $30/pair; very reasonable!
These photographs are thumbnails only, and do not show the jewelry at real size.
We've only had newly made pairs before (see below), so these ones are a treat to behold,
and of better quality, although all are made by their hands, old or new.
The white pairs are unusual; I had never seen any with white as the theme, and was told that these all harkened from Maasai who live in Tanzania, rather than Kenya.
The metal triangular decorations are called ndege, which means bird in Swahili. I love those!
These have been scanned smaller than life size. They are $30/pair.
We have several different combinations of colors of beadwork to choose from, please ask!
Several examples Maasai jewelry can be found in the seminal work
Maasai,
as well as
Africa Adorned (especially on p. 26-29);
examples of beaded leather earflaps are also shown on p.54 of
A World of Earrings.
Maasai elder men's copper mindo earweights
Newer Maasai elder men's copper mindo earweights. $30/pair.
A minimum of about 00ga is required for insertion.
Old and worn Masai elder men's copper mindo earrings. $65/pair. The first pair has SOLD.
These pieces are better quality than are usual newly made ones; you can see the wear in the softening of the edges of the triangular bottom shapes. The middle pair is unusual with it's thin top wires.
Old mindo are shown on p.50 of
A World of Earrings.
Maasai women's beaded earflaps
Maasai beaded leather ear flaps with connecting beads ($125),
along with beaded bracelets ($40/pair).
Please click on this thumnail to view a version at full size.
Berber earrings
Berber Khrab set with chain and red and green glass inlays.
From Tiznit, Morocco. $125/set. Two images are shown of the one set.
Click these thumbnails to see versions posted at life size.
Single Berber hoop earring with dark red glass inlay.
It measures <10ga, and is only $20. Side and front views shown.
Middle Eastern Jewelry:
Yeman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan
Yemeni earrings
Two pairs of huge old Yemeni hoop earrings. $150/pair.
The top pair are >9ga but <8ga and weigh around 1.01 ounces (28.7grams)/each.
The top pair are around 7ga and weigh around 1.37 ounces (38.7grams)/each.
Hoop earrings from Yemen. They are $30/pair.
Probably made by Jewish silversmiths. Around 15ga.
Turkmen earrings
Turkoman silver with areas of gold wash tenecir earrings, inlaid with lapis. 14 gauge. $75/pair.
These are new versions of the traditional tenecir designs that are more often seen with carnelian inlays.
They are worn both as earrings and as temple ornaments hanging from a headdress.
Front and back views are shown.
For reference, please see p. 81 in
A World of Earrings, and p. 96 in
Ethnic Jewellery.
Afghani earrings
Pakistani old earrings representing opium poppy buds.
Around 10ga or so. $75/pair.
Hoop earrings from Afghanistan with poppy bud bottoms.
10ga to 9ga. $100/pair.
Big Afghani hoops with thin wires. >14ga. $45/pair.
The bottom image shows another view; the available pair is seen on the right side.
Huge old Afghani silver coiled hoop earrings. ≤12ga. $70/pair.
Though attributed to many different areas, such as Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and India,
I believe the origins of these to be the Swat Valley, Pakistan. ≥11ga. $200/pair.
These traditional big hoop earrings are unusual in that they do not normally have the gold (?) wash.
Two pairs of white metal hoops from Afghanistan.
$30/pair. 16 gauge. The pair on the right has SOLD.
Earrings from South Afghanistan.
The top pair have 18ga/13ga wires and are $55/pair,
and the bottom pair have 13ga wires and are $85/pair.
Humongous Afghani earrings. The biggest we've ever seen! Around 8ga.
Giant hoop earrings with Uzbeki-like coiled metal and bumpy bead bottoms. $100/pair.
Click on this thumbnail to view the life-sized image in all it's glory!
Nose (nostril) rings
Nose ring from Uzbekistan. ≥17ga. $30.
Could be used as a single earring.
Note the unusual form of closure with the bead shown in it's center.
Three Afghani nose rings with beads: $40/each for either of the upper pieces (16ga or ≥13ga),
$62 for the lower piece with an attached chain that hooks into the hair or a headdress (15ga).
The earrings below have been attributed at times to Afghanistan, Sinkiang (China), and Yunnan (China).
Whatever the truth may be (and perhaps they are worn and traded in all of these places, as the borders of each of these geopolitical regions meet, and cultural boundaries often are not so clearly demarcated),
they are an amazing rare style of filigree earrings that I feel quite lucky to be able to offer. Enjoy!
These old earrings are $55/pair for the two top pairs,
$60/pair for the bottom left, and $75/pair for the bottom right.
All have some subtle parts of the filigree missing due to age and wear.
They vary from between 16ga to just over 14ga in their wire thicknesses.
Uighar/Uyghur intricate earrings from Xinjiang/Singkiang region of Northwest China. $150/pair.
These vary between 12ga to 10ga wire thicknesses between the pieces.
This was the first time we were able to offer any earrings from this region for sale;
I had only very rarely seen earrings of this type (this was the third pair ever).
For similar pairs, please refer to p. 168-169 in
A World of Earrings.
The huge 'Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region' in the NW of China shares borders, amongst many others, with Pakistan and a small part of Afghanistan to its Southwest, and is largely populated by Muslim Uighars. This region is also refered to as 'Eastern Turkestan' or 'Uyghurstan.'
Antique heavy silver, coral, and red bead earrings from Baluchistan.
This region extends through present-day SW Pakistan, SE Iran, and South Afghanistan.
Beautiful granulation and wire work! 16ga/14ga. $225/pair.
Kuchi tribal earrings: General Information
These earrings are from the nomadic Kuchi tribes of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
An alternative spelling is 'Koochi'; this word simply means nomadic,
and is not the name of just one tribe; they are ethnically Pashtuns.
We also call them belly dance earrings as many of them have little bells on the bottoms.
Please click on the images below to view them at the correct size; these thumbnails are not to scale.
Labels describing general categories of shapes have been included on the left-hand group image below.
Most are $20/pair (your choice); some with extra chains or yarn attachments are a bit more.
Another option is two pairs of earrings for $35, or three pairs for $50 (our choices).
Additionally, many fabulous singles are available for $8/each. We've seen these sold as nostril rings.
Many of the wires average 14ga to 15ga, though some are as thin as 16ga.
Most of the earrings have no upper hooks-like those shown above, dome shapes,
or there are longer versions with hooks which attach to a headdress or the hair
to help support the weight-like those on the far right.
Most have colored glass inlays, some have lapis or enamel inlay; some enamel imitates lapis.
Most have ball or bell shapes (ghungroo or khungru) on the bottoms,
with the resulting degree of noise varying from dull to jangly.
Singles can be adapted for wear for many uses such as pendants and headress pieces; some of these are the most amazing of all the Kuchi pieces, or else they would not have been chosen at all! Kuchi women don't seem to wear them in exact pairs, though, but we have done our best to match them up as closely as possible-please keep that in mind! It is not unusual for the earhooks to face the same direction within a pair, and thus one piece may have to be inserted back to front. Chains may look a bit different or be different lengths; colors of glass inclusions will vary; hook shapes will vary; metal coloration will shift; all of these differences can occur between the two pieces within a pair, as well as from pair to pair. No two pairs are ever identical, and will thus look slightly different than the pieces featured in the above images; these exact earrings have sold many years ago. We have many pairs currently available that are not shown.
Kuchi tribal earrings: Current Stock
Our current stock of Kuchi tribal earrings. Almost all are $20/pair or two pairs for $35.
Unlike the images shown above, these DO represent actual pairs we have in stock right now.
Please refer to them by position: for example, red crescent earrings, middle pair on the bottom row.
These photos are not shown at life size like most of our other images;
please click on those with thumbnails to view versions posted at around half size.
The above images show: red crescents and blue crescents (newer batch).
The Kuchi tribal earrings shown above are, in order:
-Jhumka/Jumpka style temple domes. Note two pairs do not have upper hooks and
most of the others have hooks made from flattened wire. The biggest domes with blue beads are $35/pair.
This style is often hung to each side of the face from a headdress or scarf.
-Blue crescents. Note the 3rd row shows three similar pieces, while the 4th row shows four similar pieces;
no clearly matched pairs are apparent - feel free to choose the ones you like best.
-Multicolored/unique. Note that several have color, size, overall height, or other differences; also those in the 4th and 5th rows are not clearly matched into pairs, but have similar enough features to be included together, and could possibly be used as a set, turning some into jewelry for hair, belts, pendants, etc..
-Three rounded triangles with upper hooks. Note the top left pair has a red inlay that has come loose.
Here is an image made for a customer who requested
Kuchi tribal earrings with the thinnest wires we had.
Please click on this thumbnail image to view one posted at real size.
The pair on the top left, the pair in the middle on the right-hand side,
and the pair on the bottom right have SOLD.
Note minor differences and cluster of three in the bottom left quadrant for you to choose your favorites!
Kuchi tribal barettes, singles, pendants, and more!
We always have some Kuchi tribal pendants and occasionally barettes available ($10-$15/each),
as well as anklets. Images of the exact pieces of our current stock of pendants, barettes,
and many types of single earrings (or noserings) have been posted below.
1st row: hair barrettes (all have SOLD), or
single hoops or noserings (the largest one with blue inlays has SOLD),
2nd row: many unique and varied pendants with lots of chains and bells:
the middle pendant from the middle image has SOLD,
3rd row: two pendants (click on this full-sized image to view one of the back sides),
4th row: SINGLE pieces of inlaid earrings (note: NO PAIRS):
red crescents (#L and #M SOLD), or
blue crescents (#A, #B, #C, and #D SOLD),
5th row: SINGLE (note these are NOT PAIRS):
dome-shaped earrings (#D, #H, #I SOLD),
unique earrings (note #A has no clasp; #B and #J SOLD), or
even nipple-like dangly ornaments in the far right position.
These hail from nomadic Afghan and Pakistani tribes. I've learned that Kuchi (or Koochi) is more of a generic term for nomadic people, and does not specifically refer to one tribe. They are ethnically Pashtun.
Please click these thumbnail-sized images to view ones at full size.
Some of the groupings have letters to help you refer to them, others you'll just have to give me the description of where it is in the picture, such as bottom row, second from the right.
Barrettes and pendants run $10-$15/each,
while single earrings are $8/each or 2 pieces for $15.
This jewelry is wholesale priced for everyone - no retail markup. Enjoy!
Late addition: a Kuchi tribal pendant with upper hook and mirrors. $15.
Kuchi tribal bracelets and anklets
JUST UPDATED!!! Kuchi tribal long cuffs from Afghanistan/Pakistan. $12, $15, or $18/each.
Most are for slender wrists only. Similar ones are grouped together; most are singles.
These images are photographs and are not to scale nor life-sized.
Please refer to these as images #AA through #HH.
Kuchi tribal small bracelets. $12/each. 7 shown. #AA.
The bracelets in the bottom row positions #3 and #4 have SOLD.
Kuchi tribal short cuff bracelets. $15/each. 6 shown. #BB.
The bracelets shown first and in the middle of the bottom row have SOLD.
#CC have all SOLD.
Kuchi tribal long cuff bracelets. $18/each. 2 shown. #DD.
Kuchi tribal long cuff bracelets. $18/each. 4 shown. #EE.
The second bracelet shown has SOLD.
Kuchi tribal long cuff bracelets. $18/each. 5 shown. #FF.
Angular Kuchi tribal long cuff bracelets. $18/each. 4 shown. #GG.
The second bracelet shown has SOLD.
Four Afghani armlets with bells and colorful mirrors. $20/each.
Please click on this thumnail to view a version at full size.
Four plain Afghani anklets without mirrors. $20/each.
Please click on this thumnail to view a version at full size.
Kuchi tribal anklets with bells, sewed onto fabric backings, from Afghanistan.
These are made from mixed base metals (often called 'gillet' or 'white brass') and not silver.
Please click these thumbnails to view full-sized images. The top one is the only available piece.
#A with very small internal diameter (maybe for arm?) and slightly bigger bells $20/single;
#B and #C have SOLD.
Kuchi tribal collars or choker necklaces
Afghanistani tribal belly dance necklaces and chokers/collars. $25/each.
Most have with bells, coins, inlaid glass, enamel, or lapis, some have beads sewn onto fabric backings.
Note that a few do not come with the attached yarn that is necessary for wear.
This image is only a thumbnail and is not to scale;
click it to see a larger version (which will also not be full-sized).
The necklace shown in the middle has SOLD.
Kuchi tribal belts
Sewn and embroidered cloth, coin, metal, mirror, bell, bead, and rondelle Kuchi tribal belts.
The Kuchi are a group of nomads from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Very colorful and noisy. Great for tribal belly dance!
$45/each. These pieces have both SOLD. Please ask to be on our wait list for more!
This image is only a thumbnail and is not to scale;
click it to see a larger version (which will also not be full-sized).
We sometimes have other Kuchi tribal belts in this same price range.
Some varieties are base metal instead of cloth, with enamal or lapis inlays.
Kuchi tribal headdresses
Kuchi tribal headdresses with bells, beads, and colorful mirrors. $25/each.
Kuchi tribal headdresses with beads and rows of fish designs. $25/each.
The bottom piece has SOLD.
Kuchi (Afghanistan) tribal head ornaments with bells and beads.
$25/each. These pieces have SOLD.
The first has an upper hook that would go into a headdress or the hair,
while the others have a fabric piece that would keep them in place over the head.
Please click the thumbnail-sized images to view scans done at real size.
Click the thumbnails below
to view our selection of ethnic jewelry from various parts of the world.
