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.
The 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!
This is the first time we have encountered pieces like this!
$75-80/pair (side and front views shown); the right hand style has sold for $60/pair.
(Hmm... the original collector just informed us that these lovelies might actually be from Yemen...)
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.
Three earrings from Ethiopia. Yup, three! $50 for the set.
Ethiopian women's giant clay lip plates
Six plain dark clay Ethiopian Mursi tribe women's giant lip plates. These run $150-$200/each.
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.
African porcupine quills necklace and cuff bracelets (set on elastic string) with interspersed black beads.
From Kenya. The necklaces are $12/each, while the bracelets are $8/each.
Please click on the above thumbnail to view a life-sized image.
Maasai women's leather ear flaps
Maasai women's leather gonito ear flaps, traditionally worn in large earlobe piercings.
This gorgeous pair comes on a very sturdy black colored metal stand (not shown). $80/set. SOLD
An additional shipping charge may apply due to the weight of the stand.
Click on this small thumbnail to view a life-sized scan.
These Maasai women's ear pieces have beads and metal (tin?) and buttons sewed onto them for decoration. Click on the small scan to view them at their full size. One piece out of each pair is shown. $60/pair SOLD.
Please note: we can usually get more pairs of Maasai leather ear flaps-just 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.
Beaded Maasai women's upper ear jewelry
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!
Maasai elder men's copper mindo earweights
We've tried to carry these for the past several years with no luck...
we finally have a few pairs in stock again (for now) - enjoy!
They are new, and are $30/pair.
Old mindo are shown on p.50 of
A World of Earrings.
Maasai beaded earcuffs
Maasai ear cuffs (aka earclips): however you'd like to call them, we got 'em!
These have many colorful beads set on wire. $25-30/pair. The third pair have SOLD.
Finally, a few pairs are back in stock! Two views are shown of the same three pairs.
Barabaig tribe earweights
New Barabaig tribe from Tanzania omega-shaped brass earweights with pounded in aluminum.
The Barabaig are culturally similar to, but traditional enemies with the Maasai,
but differ in several ways including linguistic family and their practice of facial scarification.
They are known for their traditional rainmaking practices.
We obtained these from a project that was started to bring money into the community. $55/pair.
Turkana tribe septum jewelry
Aluminum Turkana men's leaf-shaped akaparaparat septum pieces with stamped designs-$40/each.
These can also be seen worn by Pokot men, and in the upper ears of Turkana women.
One piece has SOLD, the other is ON HOLD.
For an image of a man wearing one, please see p. 15 in
Africa Adorned.
Turkana labrets
Copper and other metal Turkana women's ($35-smaller) and men's ($50-larger) atepes labrets.
The Turkana are from Kenya, East Africa. These labrets are also worn by related tribes.
These exact pieces have sold, but very similar ones are available.
P. 33 in
Africa Adorned shows an example of this type of labret.
This Turkana labret has SOLD for $40.
It was probably a women's labret.
Erica took the above picture at a body art museum in Malacca, Malaysia!
The caption read:
"This elaborately adorned married Toposa woman of Southern Sudan has a long wire piercing her lower lip."
Neolithic quartz labrets
Assorted shapes and sizes of Neolithic quartz labrets and long plugs. Most have broken tips.
These are said to be 4000 to 6000 years old from the Tillemsi region of Mali.
$20/each, two for $35, three for $50... or take all 11 for $150!
Middle Eastern Jewelry: Yeman, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan
Yemeni earrings
Hoop earrings from Yemen. They are $30/pair.
Yemeni hoop earrings decorated with breast-like shapes. $60/pair.
Turkmen earrings
Turkoman silver with areas of gold wash tenecir earrings, inlaid with lapis. $80/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 shown.
For reference, please see p. 81 in
A World of Earrings, and p. 96 in
Ethnic Jewellery.
Afghani earrings
Humongous Afghani earrings. The biggest we've ever seen!
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!
Pashtun tribe (Afghanistan) hoop earrings with little bells. $40/pair.
Nose (nostril) rings
Two Afghanistani noserings are $20 and $30/each.
The first piece might actually be from Sinkiang (China) rather than Afghanistan.
Three different nose rings from Uzbekistan ($35, $40-SOLD, $40/each).
Note the first piece has an usual form of closure with the bead shown in it's center.
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),
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.
Koochi tribal earrings
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 scans below to view them at the correct size; these small ones are not to scale.
Labels for describing general categories of shapes have been included on the scan of the large grouping.
$20/pair; or two pairs for $35; three pairs for $50.
Most of the wires average 14ga to 15ga, though some are as thin as 16ga.
There are smaller ones with no upper hooks-like those shown above, dome shapes, and
larger versions with hooks which attach to a headdress or the hair
to help support the weight-like those on the far right.
Additionally, many fabulous singles are available for $8/each. We've seen these sold as nostril rings.
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! The Kuchi 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 identical, and will thus look slightly different than the pieces featured in the scans.
We also have a few Kuchi pendants and occasionally barettes available ($10-$15/each).
We can sometimes get and anklets as well. Brand new images of pendants, barettes,
and many types of single earrings have just been posted below.
I've been meaning to post an update of our awesome selection of Kuchi tribal jewelry,
for a long time now, and I am happy to present them to you now! We have:
1st row: hair barrettes (some with birds; two of the colorful glass inlay ones have SOLD);
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:
in the first image, the two pendants on the bottom right are the only ones remaining;
the middle pendant from the middle image has SOLD, and
in the last (far right) image, the square-ish pendants on the left have all SOLD),
3rd row: a bracelet with tons of bells and a fake watch (fronts and backs shown-SOLD); two small pendants
4th row: single pieces of red or blue crescent inlaid earrings,
5th row: single dome-shaped or unique earrings (#B SOLD), and even nipple-looking danglies.
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. Enjoy!
Koochi tribal bracelets and anklets
Base metal Afghani/Pakistani cuff style bracelets, most with hinges. $15/each.
All of the bracelets shown have been SOLD.
We now have more featured over on our newly acquired jewelry page.
These cuffs would work best with slender wrists only.
All cuff bracelets are singles and NOT available in pairs unless otherwise noted.
Please click the thumbnail-sized images to view scans done at real size; thumbnails are NOT to scale.
The eight short cuff bracelets shown lowest have a pin and can be pulled open, but do not have hinges.
Kuchi tribal anklets with bells, sewed onto fabric backings, from Afghanistan.
Please click these thumbnails to view full-sized images. In order, they are:
#A with very small internal diameter (maybe for arm?) and slightly bigger bells $20/single,
#B more silvery (though keep in mind all of these are mixed base metals and not silver!) $20/single,
#C brassy (could maybe be matched up with #G) $20/single,
#D with noisy hanging pods (SOLD),
#E brassy with red glass inlays on clasp and elsewhere $22/single (SOLD).
On the second image: #F with big bells and green glass inlays on the clasp $22/single (SOLD),
and #G brassy PAIR (one could maybe be matched up with #A or #C) $40/pair.
Afghani/Pakistani lapis and base metal anklets. Only $12/pair!
These would mainly fit smaller ankles, larger wrists, or small upper arms.
Please click this thumbnail-sized image to view a scan done at real size.
Koochi tribal headdresses
Kuchi (Afghanistan) tribal head ornaments with bells and beads. $20/each. All pieces have SOLD.
Please ask to be placed on a wait list if you would like these in the future.
The first has an upper hook that would go into a headdress or the hair,
while the other four 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.
Koochi tribal collars or choker necklaces
Three different Kuchi tribal collar/choker necklaces from Afghanistan and Pakistan,
with bells, inlaid blue, red, and/or green glass, lapis, and/or coins, sewn onto fabric backings.
Please click the thumbnail-sized images to view scans done at real size.
$20-$25/each. These collars have now SOLD.
We now have more featured over on our newly acquired jewelry page.
Koochi tribal belts
Three Kuchi tribal belly dance style belts (shown together).
These show a huge amount of variety in colors, materials, embroidery, and more.
They have glass, mirror, and stone inlays, beads and lots of bells, and beaded rondelles.
The Kuchi are tribal nomads from Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Please click on this image to view a version that is life-sized.
Most are $35-$40/each; ones with lapis inlays go up to $45/each. These belts have now SOLD.
We now have more featured over on our newly acquired jewelry page.
:: All prices listed are wholesale to shops :: Retail prices to individuals are twice those listed ::
