Pair of silver bracelets, Oman

Large Omani bracelets made of silver and decorated with floral embossed decoration.

They have small metal or stone balls inside that rattle when they move, announcing the presence of women to male visitors entering a private house. The sounds caused by the bracelets also drove away the djins or spirits.

These bracelets were worn both by Arab and Baloch women (an ethnic community from Pakistan that settled in Oman to work in the 19th century) along the Batinah coast.

From the 19th or early 20th century.

Dimensions:

Total size: 11 x 10.5 x 3.5 cm
Inner diameter: 6cm

Weight: 241 g

Literature:

“Bracelets ethniques d’afrique, d’Asie d’Océanie et d’Amérique”, van Cutsem, Anne, Skira, 2002, p. 146-7
“Oman Adorned”, Shelton, Pauline-Morris, Miranda, Apex Publishing, 1997, p. 122
“Silver Jewellery of Oman”, Rajab, Jehan S., Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, 1997, p. 17, 56
“Shine and Mistery, the splendor and power of Oriental jewelry”, Hoesli, Peter, Knayf-Museum Iphofen, 2023, p. 106

ME236