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Source Description

The broad silver headband consists of a flexible, tightly interlaced band, which has shield-shaped end-pieces and seven movable retainers with rhombic elements. End-pieces and retainers are executed in embossing and filigree technique; in addition they are gilded and the background is filled with green enamel. The floral decor on the end pieces combines different shaped leaves and stalks; and the rhombic elements display four three-foil attachments arranged around a central five-ball granulation cluster. The motifs of the end-pieces and retainers are framed with bead-molding borders. Such silver headbands formed the basis of a woman's headpiece. The large loops at the end-pieces were used to fix the band at the headscarf, and the smaller loops on the rhombic elements to fasten smaller (often ball-shaped) dangles. Headpieces such as this were common in northern regions of Yemen.The back of the end pieces has an Arabic stamp with the name of the ruling imam and the date: al-Mahdi 1171. Al-Mahdi al-"Abbas was the imam of Yemen from AH 1161 to 1189 (AD 1748-1775), and belonged to then Qasimid family. In 1762/63 he met the German explorer Carsten Niebuhr, who reported on this encounter.An engraving in Hebrew on the back of the other end-piece names the silversmith: Sa'id "Iraqi. The Hebrew script clearly states that the silversmith was Jewish, and the name indicates that he or his family originally came from Iraq.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
80913
label
Woman's Headband
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
5
Source metadata
id
80913
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Woman's Headband
description
The broad silver headband consists of a flexible, tightly interlaced band, which has shield-shaped end-pieces and seven movable retainers with rhombic elements. End-pieces and retainers are executed in embossing and filigree technique; in addition they are gilded and the background is filled with green enamel. The floral decor on the end pieces combines different shaped leaves and stalks; and the rhombic elements display four three-foil attachments arranged around a central five-ball granulation cluster. The motifs of the end-pieces and retainers are framed with bead-molding borders. Such silver headbands formed the basis of a woman's headpiece. The large loops at the end-pieces were used to fix the band at the headscarf, and the smaller loops on the rhombic elements to fasten smaller (often ball-shaped) dangles. Headpieces such as this were common in northern regions of Yemen.The back of the end pieces has an Arabic stamp with the name of the ruling imam and the date: al-Mahdi 1171. Al-Mahdi al-"Abbas was the imam of Yemen from AH 1161 to 1189 (AD 1748-1775), and belonged to then Qasimid family. In 1762/63 he met the German explorer Carsten Niebuhr, who reported on this encounter.An engraving in Hebrew on the back of the other end-piece names the silversmith: Sa'id "Iraqi. The Hebrew script clearly states that the silversmith was Jewish, and the name indicates that he or his family originally came from Iraq.
provenance
Mr. Derek Content and Mr. Benjamin Zucker [Zucker Family Trust] London and New York, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 2010, by gift.
date
1171 AH/AD 1757-1758
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Gold, Silver & Jewelry
headbands
imageCount
5
pageCount
5
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
40
height
3
dimensionsRaw
L: 15 3/4 x W of end-pieces: 1 3/16 in. (40 x 3 cm)
Source extras
inscriptions
[Stamp] In Arabic: al-Mahdi 1171; [Engraved] In Hebrew: Sa'id 'Iraqi
dynasty
Qasimid Dynasty
reign
Al-Mahdi al-‘Abbas (AD 1748-1775)
med
silver with gilding and enamel
creator_ids
18949
collection_ids
JWL
SAY
exhibition_ids
3181
3562
Page inventory
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1
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photo
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photo
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type
photo
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type
photo
mediaId
da21c00c3a74376a
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seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
2de7821ff45251a3
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no
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no