While surfing the net the over the weekend for any historical information I could find on Afghan bronze jewelry dies, I came across a groovy website that sells ethnic jewelry called beadparadise.com. I wasn't looking for a shop but I decided to browse anyway. Suddenly I saw an incredible Afghan necklace that reminded me of an antique one that I bought in Islamabad. As I looked closer, I noticed that the centerpiece of the necklace looked almost identical to one of my vintage Afghan bronze jewelry dies. I pulled up a photo of a pendant I made from that die and my jaw dropped.......it was EXACTLY the same design! Could it be that the die that I own was used to make this necklace??
I emailed Ruth, the owner, and told her of my discovery. She believes the necklace to be 75 to 100 years old but wasn't sure where in Afghanistan the necklace was made. She said that these dies are not that uncommon to find but I would LOVE to know if these dies were duplicated or one of a kind.... and, I want to learn how these brass dies are made. Were they designed by men or women? AND, are they still made today? Does anyone out there know?
Afghan bronze jewelry die
my metal clay creation made from the die above
2 comments:
That is so wild. Hmm... a mystery! Very cool.
What kismet! Of all the blogs out there to stumble upon this one.
Post a Comment