:: All prices listed are wholesale to shops :: Retail prices to individuals are twice those listed ::
Old ethnic jewelry has not been cleaned nor polished to preserve patinas and the overall appearance of the pieces at the time of collection. All jewelry is shipped non-sterile and ethnic jewelry should be assumed to have been previously used. Jewelry shown has traditionally been worn in stretched earlobe piercings. While some hilltribe jewelry may be made out of very high content silver, including anywhere from sterling silver up to fine silver in terms of purity, most of these old pieces should be assumed to be made from "tribal silver" or "coin silver," not sterling silver, which means there can be a greater content of nickel in them. They should be utilized in well-healed tissue when no nickel allergy is present or for collection, education, and display purposes only. Pieces have been selected to be both affordable and functional, but may also appeal to those beginning an ethnographic or tribal jewelry collection as well.
The bulk of the jewelry on this page consist of various old ethnic hilltribe silver plugs, weights, hoops, and earrings from the golden triangle region of northern Thailand, Burma, and China.
We have added various pieces from Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines, plus we are integrating this region with parts of mainland Asia, such as China (and thus are renaming it!).
We have also featured Laos and Malaysia (especially Sarawak) in the past.
Several pieces are not attributed to a specific tribe or point of origin as they were sold as a whole collection. Names mentioned below such as Hmong, Miao, Karen, and Kayah, are some of tribal groups from this region.
Please see p. 60-61 in
Peoples of the Golden Triangle and
The Art of Silver Jewellery
for excellent photo reference sources.
Karen tribe cups
Several different types of Thai hilltribe jewelry are shown on this page.
Karen tribe big hollow cup shapes with big flares. $80/pair.
The women of the Karen hilltribe (from North Thailand and the surrounding region)
traditionally wear these plugs. These have nice, unusually large almost Mayan style, front flares.
The Karen are renowned for their excellent craftsmanship in silver jewelry.
For more examples of Karen 'cup' shaped plugs, please see:
p. 236-237 in
A World of Earrings and p. 205 in
Ethnic Jewellery.
Omega style shapes
All are in the 18ga to 16ga range, and are $10/each or $20/pair. Same price for retail customers!!!
Of course one would need to have a larger sized piercing for insertion due to the curls at the bottoms.
These are the first examples of this style of jewelry that we have seen-pretty neat!
For an example of these types of earrings, see pages 232-233 in
A World of Earrings.
Various old tribal silver pieces
The top left pair are short lengthed plugs similar to ones we had before from the Black Tai tribe, and are $20/pair. Same price for retail customers!!!
The top right question mark/hook style pieces have conical/triangular fronts and have SOLD.
The second row shows a pair of really nice earrings with triangular sides. Though the top wire is around a 5ga, the triangular parts are around 5/8" at the big parts, but flat in cross section; thus, you might have to be around 00ga on average to get them in. They are $60/pair - same price for retail customers!!!
The bottom row is a pair of equally as bizarre earrings. The half balls would go in front of the ear, and the triangular parts would dangle behind. They are $85/pair - same price for retail customers!!!
Taking the average of the measurements of that triangle would mean a minimum size of 7/16" is required for insertion. The bottom dip of the "U" shape is around a 4ga and the size of the wire at the wearing surface behind the half balls is 9-8ga.
See p.224, 232-233 in, yes,
A World of Earrings for documentation on these styles.
Vietnamese hilltribe earrings
Some are silver, some are made from base metal (such as tin, zinc, or aluminum), and
all have some sype of variation between the left and right-hand pieces (which add character, of course!).
This pair of giant hilltribe hook earrings would be worn tipped forward, with the triangular flares worn to the front and the long tails hooking into the wearer's headdress or bun. I have also seen a photo of a woman wearing a pair with the bottoms in front of her collarbones, tied together with a strip of cloth. Though this particular pair were collected in Vietnam, they are worn all over the Golden Triangle region.
Click on this thumbnail to view a full-sized image. They are engraved on one side. $100/pair.
This style has been documented in many ethnic jewelry books:
for example, see p. 151 in
The Art of Silver Jewellery.
The first pair with fluttering wedge-shapes are $40/pair;
the second pair with a neat wandering design are $40/pair as well, as shown on p. 79 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery, where a pair in this shape is described as being Miao from Hainan Island.
Highly ornate wire work! $100/pair.
Though found in Vietnam, these are in the same style
as pairs we have had from South China.
Chinese hilltribe jewelry
A good variety of exciting South Chinese hoops and plugs...
Huge Chinese Dong hilltribe knobby wrapped spiral silver earrings. $200/pair. SOLD
These are still posted both as size reference and also because we may be able to get similar ones again.
An image of a hilltribe woman wearing this type of earrings appears on the back of a yuan note
(paper Chinese currency; we heard they recently stopped printing this design).
Refer to p. 200 of
Ethnic Jewellery, and p.189 in
A World of Earrings
to see pairs of various sizes like the ones we have on offer here.
A couple of notes on Dong tribe knobby style earrings...
Silver content can vary dramatically from almost pure silver to none at all, with a typical alloy being made of a combo of copper, zinc, and nickel (sometimes called alpaca, 'German silver,' 'nickel silver,' etc.). Obviously the silver content and weight (and the current price of silver) can affect the price accordingly. Something to keep in mind is that it is also common to cover lower silver content or white metal alloy pieces with a high or even fine silver content plating. This of course affects the appearance, testability, and price as it is easy to pass off as the actual silver content of the entire piece.
Reproductions of this style are being made in China and here, by the tribe themselves and by outsiders. As with much ethnic jewelry these days, some knobbies are made very well and are meant to be 'fakes' (passed off as old), and others are simply made with varying degrees of skill for intra-tribal use, or made for sale to outsiders without any attempt to label them as antiques, as this is still a living design being made and worn by the Dong themselves. Therefore authenticity and age are also factors affecting price and availability.
This information applies to most other South Chinese and Golden Triangle tribal jewelry as well!
Hopefully this will help to illuminate why prices can vary so much within just one style of earrings.
Giant South Chinese tribal knobby earrings.
Newly made out of white metal (no silver). Only $40-50/pair.
This exact pair has sold, but we do have more pairs available.
For an image of a Dong woman wearing this style of earrings, please see
p. 31 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery; p. 75 also has other images of them.
Four different styles of Miao tribe knobby earrings.
Newly made out of white metal (no silver). Only $40/pair.
Miao tribal base metal dragon earrings and Dong style knobbies with round balls. $40/pair.
Two pairs of Miao South China base metal hoops
with lots of coiled wire. $40/pair.
Page 75 in
The Art of Silver Jewellery shows a similar pair to the bottom pair.
South Chinese Miao tribe newly made dragon earrings. $50/pair.
Three pairs of Miao tribe (Chinese Hmong) huge base metal hoop earrings. $50/pair.
Two pairs older of Dong tribe (China) hoops, with subtle engravings.
$100/pair (smaller pair on top-still available) to $120/pair (larger pair on bottom-SOLD).
Please refer to p. 181 in
A World of Earrings, p. 80 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery,
and p. 204 in
Ethnic Jewellery to view similar pairs.
Old South Chinese Dong or Miao tribe earrings.
$80 (round) or $100/pair (with drops-my favorite type!).
These are similar to those shown on pp. 80-81 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery.
South Chinese Miao tribe newly made round hoop earrings. $50/pair.
Old Miao tribe smaller hoop earrings. $70/pair.
Nice quality Miao tribe big double dragon hoop earrings. $130/pair.
Miao tribe China base metal flowered hoops.
They are flat on the backs. $50/pair.
There is a photo of a Dong woman wearing this style on p. 23 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery;
p. 92 shows more and describes the flowers as chrysanthemums.
Older Dong tribe oddly angled hoops with metal keepers - $80/pair.
We now a few more pairs of these, newly made in base metals below.
Page 181 in
A World of Earrings, pp. 76 and 80 in
The Art of Silver Jewellery (described therein as Miao), and p. 204 in
Ethnic Jewellery shows pairs with closely-related forms.
Two styles of newly made white metal (no silver) crooked Chinese tribal earrings. Only $30/pair.
Miao (Hmong) tribe earrings with coiled bottoms
that add some weight, and thin gauge ear wires. $75/pair.
Two pairs heavy Miao (Hmong) tribe spirals. $75/pair.
The right-hand (longer) pair has SOLD, although we do still have a similar long pair;
the tops are less rounded and just a bit longer.
Uighar/Uyghur intricate earrings from Xinjiang/Singkiang region of Northwest China. $150/pair.
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.
We have found a few more pairs in this style! They were described as being from Pakistan.
These earrings are currently being featured over on the ethnic jewelry from the Middle East page.
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.'
These heavy silver plugs are good examples of the style worn by Dong tribeswomen. The back flares are big, but necessarily so to counteract the weight of the large front flares. These measure just a smidge over 3/4" on average on the wearing surface, with the back flares being over 1-1/8". $70/pair.
Pairs like these are shown on p. 192 in
A World of Earrings, p. 74 in
The Art of Silver Jewellery
(where they are described as being Miao), and on p. 200 in
Ethnic Jewellery.
Two pairs <1" older Dong tribe (China) big double flared earplugs with 'spool' style flares. $100/pair.
As with most Dong plugs, they have seams where the metal comes together on the wearing surfaces.
Please refer to p. 193 in
A World of Earrings and
pages 15 (in ear) and 79 in
The Art of Silver Jewellery to view similar pairs.
New double-sided <13/16" (20mm) South Chinese tribal plugs with two 'spool' style flares.
Note indented (but smooth) seam on the wearing surface at the solder joint. $60/pair.
The following amber pieces are from Burma and NE India,
though the amber is Burmese (Burmite).
Traditional Burmese amber earplugs,
slightly tapered ($120/pair).
Old Burmese amber plugs, collected from Assam.
Between 1/2" and 9/16" ($80/pair).
Ancient Burmese glass plugs
Ancient Burmese faceted glass ear plugs.
All are singles chosen for their great coloration.
The faces are all faceted, as are the wearing surfaces.
The large one is glass imitating a double flared amber plug.
I may sell them all as one collection, and I may keep some.
$40 (most) to $70/each. They are singles only; we do not have pairs.
The fifth piece over (light green) has SOLD.
Please note that these are intended for collecting purposes only,
as they have not been tested, and we do not know the contents of the glass.
New Cambodian or Laotian coils
Small silver Cambodian or Laotian reproduction coils/light weights. $100/pair.
Nice and compact. This exact pair sold, but one more pair is available!
Ancient Cambodian jewelry
Yellow glass earplugs ancient ear plugs from Cambodia, estimated to be 500-1000 years old!
While some pieces are similar enough to be close to pairs, all are individual and unique.
Some have straight shafts and flat discs, and some have flared ends like insect bodies with rounded discs, which make them look overall like little mushrooms.
The ones depicted have SOLD, though we can get singles and less matched pairs. $25-30/each piece.
Page 210 in
A World of Earrings shows various ancient glass plugs,
including a pair with a similar overall shape.
Ancient Cambodian encrusted upside-down U shaped ear weights
(probably Angkor circa 900 CE gold over bronze). Merely $65/pair.
Please ask about discounts if you are interested in more than one pair.
All have large areas of greenish patina which probably render them unwearable as is,
though as with all jewelry with heavy patinas, wrapping them with cotton thread might do the trick.
Front and back views of each piece is shown. Please refer to them in order by pair: #B thru #F.
Two pairs of old Khmer gilded bronze earrings, which have been encrusted together over time.
Harkening from the 12th through 14th centuries CE, from the Battambang region of Cambodia.
They obviously can't be opened or worn any more (this style used to open with a hinge at the top),
but are great for collecting, display, or educational purposes. $125.
We've seen some ancient earrings like this before, but never with a double set such as these.
Rare jewelry from Indonesia
South Maluku Islands super rare earrings. $100/pair and $125/pair.
These islands in Eastern Indonesia are also known as the Moluccas.
Men's loran earweights from Tanimbar Island (Indonesia) are $125/pair.
I've also seen them called lelbutir. These remind me of little spaceships. Rare!
These are important items exchanged between families of a bride and groom.
Filipino ling ling-o
Filipino new brass ling ling-o aka dinumug or bung; traditionally used as both pendants and ear jewelry.
The ones with figures on the left and right sides such as the last shown are called pinangpanga.
These are traditionally found in gold, brass, and silver.
Many designs are attributed to the Bontoc,
though they are worn by other tribes as well such as the Ifugao and Kankanay.
We can send you black strings to suspend them as necklaces.
$30 for 2 pieces of the same design.
Published references can be found on p. 250 in
A World of Earrings,
p. 258-261 and 306 in
Power and Gold,
and p. 34-35, 244, and 278 in
Jewelry of Southeast Asia.
New tribal-made silver spiral earrings
The following pairs of silver jewelry are all newly made by Thai hill tribes using traditional methods.
This type of reproduction work helps to employ tribal villagers in their traditional line of work,
as well as having the added affect of reinforcing the idea that their indigenous crafts, and the skilled people and culture that produces them, is appreciated by people all over the world.
These are also featured on our new silver and bronze jewelry page.
Many different Thai silver spiral shaped earrings with thin-gauged wires are available.
Prices listed below are per PAIR, and will vary by weight (and current price) of silver.
Thai silver hammered spiral earrings. $15/pair.
'S' spirals with gear-like bottoms ($28/pair).
Rounded question mark shaped spirals ($15/pair small or $36/pair large).
Flat question mark shaped spirals ($23-sold, $22, or $32/pair).
Flat spirals ($10-SOLD, $10-same as two images below on right side, $17, or $25/pair).
Round overall spiral designs ($22, $35-SOLD, or $55/pair).
Three pairs of tiny silver Thai earrings with flat spirals.
The middle pair is vermeil and have SOLD. $10/pair.
Lao new question mark shaped hooks with hex faceted fronts ($40/pair).
These are similar to the smaller shapes found on p. 205 of
Ethnic Jewellery and
p. 79 of
The Art of Silver Jewellery, which describes this style as being from the Yi tribe.
