Origins of Berber wedding pearls...

[barbaradilek]

Iv seen examples of antique North African Berber wedding jewellery,which contains masses of small pearls.Does anyone have any ideas where the pearls have come from?Would they have been freshwater or saltwater? There is a short section in Kunz
“Book of the Pearl” on Pearl harvesting in east Africa,but Iv been unable to discover anything else.Any ideas would be welcome

 

[Happy Huku]

Can't help you there, barbaradilek but you've piqued my curiosity and I'm going to google...

 

[CortezPearls]

Very similar to the Hindii pearl tradition
Africa has a few sources of natural pearls:
South Africa has a small pearl oyster called "Cape Town Pearl Oyster" or Pinctada capensis.
Then you have the "Red Sea" with a magnificent "Black-lip" known as the "Red Sea Pearl oyster", actually a subspecies of the Tahitian shell: Pinctada margaritifera erythraensis.

There was a researcher by the last name of Reed that started growing pearl oysters in Sudan back in the 1950's I believe. His papers are very interesting. I could not find the articles (I had them in print) but Jeremy posted this blog entry you will find very interesting.

 

[CortezPearls]

Found it. From 1964.
But you need special access to read the whole article. You can visit the page here.

 

[barbaradilek]

Thanks so much for your comments,and the link to the article.So many amazing stories out there hidden in academic papers.A friend in North Africa is sending me some Berber wedding jewelleryAs soon as I get it I will post some photos,they might give a few clues...Barbara

 

[CortezPearls]

We are awaiting for your photos and information Barbara!
Have a great weekend

 

[MSC]

following with great interest

 

[barbaradilek]

Good grief! The parcel. arrived today,5 months after posting,with my Berber tiny pearls.You have all gone off to play another game by now,and I can’t blame you..Anyway,if anyone out there is still interested,hopefully below is a photo of the pearls,next to a strand of freshwater I already have.In real life,the Berber strand are darker pinky brown colours,so I presume they haven’t been treated in any way.

 

[lisa c]

You’re so funny!
So, let’s have a look here,

 

[CortezPearls]

5 months is a long time...almost half-a-year! But...they came through, so it worth a celebration
Interesting that they look so much like the rice-krispies, except for the coloration.
Have you worn them already?

 

[barbaradilek]

Of course! They were round my neck like a rat up a drainpipe! Iv taken another photo to gauge the size,and a string of rice crispies for comparison.The rice crispies are crinkly all over,but the tiny pearls are much smoother.My spaghetti is boiling over...more Pearl chat later...

 

[CortezPearls]

I feel like I want to have them in my hand...too bad the posts are not "Virtual Reality Enabled"...I look forward to this future update!

 

[lisa c]

Very cool, how tiny are they, how long a strand and are they strung on horse-tail hair?

 

[barbaradilek]

The strand is 54” or 138 cms long,and is strung on very fine thread,not horsehair,but I suppose it they could have been restrung.They are about 4 mm wide and 2mm long.rI love the romance,that they would have been worn by a Berber bride for her wedding,then parted with when money was tight,but just where they originated from is anyone’s guess.I once visited an ancient mosque in Central Tunisia,and admired the prayer carpets,only to notice a label stating “ made In Birmingham,” an industrial city in England....Maybe there’s a mundane end to this mystery,but I really hope these aren’t “ made in China”!

 

[CathyKeshi]

Ooh, yes, we were waiting and hoping to see these ... fascinating and beautiful!

 

[pearlescence]

I came across a strand of naturals at the back of a jeweller's shop in Marrakesh years ago (my pearldar went 'ping' while my daughter was browsing the shop) They were unio pearls - probably collected as a by-product of lunch somewhere up in the Atlas mountains where the molluscs would flourish.

 

[barbaradilek]

If you have still got them can we see a photo?Iv no idea what unio pearls are and need to be educated.