Hotsell Antique Berber Silver Taguemout Or Egg Bead With Blue, Yellow and Red Enameling 40MM Long By 33MM Wide

Antique Berber Silver Taguemout Or Egg Bead With Blue, Yellow and Red Enameling 40MM Long By 33MM Wide $115.00 Total Weight 18.4 Grams

This is an original, not a tourist piece. It has seen quite a bit of wear and has the aged patina of time with areas of enamel worn away. The metal is otherwise in good condition. On one side there is a hole right near the central band going around the middle. I think this was done later on, perhaps to add an attachment of some sort.

The pattern is a series of raised rings within a raised ring with what remains of the enamel within those rings. There are four rows of the rings going around the bead. There is a wide, band of raised filigree design in the middle and two finer strips of wire separating the rows on either side of the larger band. The finish is darkened with high points having a soft, pleasing shine.

An old Berber silver metal and enamel egg bead (taguemout) sourced in Ida ou Semlal in the Western Anti Atlas in Southern Morocco. Among the Berber the egg is a symbol of fertility, as life comes from it. Hand made in the first half of hotsell the 20th century, of Jewish workmanship, with enameling in blue, yellow and red. This would typically be worn at the center of linked fibulae or on necklaces. The repeated eye design is believed to be a strong protective element for the wearer.

Taguemout beads are worn by women of all ages and the style of their adornment identifies the community of the wearer's origin. This is an eminently useable original antique Taguemout ready to grace any jewelry making project you might have.

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