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Tunisian Necklace

Tunisia has a long tradition of silver jewelry craftsmanship and use. Like people in most Muslim countries, Tunisians, particularly women, valued silver jewelry as a store of wealth and a prize possession for personal adornment. Indeed, the latter aspect of traditional Tunisian silverwork is particularly striking as rich traditions from many different cultures, including Tunisian, North African, and Roman, combined to result in a wide diversity of design throughout the many distinct regions of this relatively small country.



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The necklace shown in the photo combines Tunisian square silver beads with large graduated Pakistani onyx rondelles. The Tunisian beads are new, but they encapsulate an unbroken tradition of Tunisian silverwork from before the arrival of Roman settlers to modern times. Each side of the bead is embellished with Tunisian motifs to create a surprisingly heavy bead, which is a showpiece either when used as a single centerpiece or, as in this necklace, in tandem with many other square beads.



As in many countries with rich histories of silver, silver in Tunisia has given way in popularity to the allure of gold. As a result, many women in villages and towns have sold their old silver adornments for gold jewelry. The old silver had either been melted into ingots for use in new designs, or the old silver has found its way to the local bazaars, where visitors may acquire it to this day. However, the supply of traditional silver work is not increasing in Tunisia and the number of silversmiths practicing traditional styles can only steadily decrease.

Given this situation, the necklace displayed stands as testimonial to the fine craftsmanship of the Tunisian silversmith and the rich – but disappearing -- silver heritage of Tunisia.