Worn by men and women.

Zulu have worn ear plugs for centuries.

Our example is of the highly sought after wood, vinyl and metal pins form.

Himba Anklet

Namibia - Angola

Married Himba women wore heavy anklets. They were made of hand wrought iron beads, then strung onto a leather support structure. Anklets such as these displayed wealth and were worn daily. 

Our example is particularly old and the iron beads are extremely worn.

Himba women wore anklets until death. Nowadays Himba anklets are taken apart for their beads, then strung into necklaces and sold to tourists.

Cameroon

A very fine and rare matched pair.

Another Pair

This matched pair is made from Brass

Ibo Anklet - Nigeria

A very old excellent example.

Most item is most probably of 19th century origin.

Frafra - Burkina Faso

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This anklet was worn by Frafra women in Burkina Faso.

Tuareg Woman's Counterweight

'Assrou N´Swoul'

Tuareg pendants called Assrou N´Swoul look like like elaborate keys. They held down the robes and headscarves of wealthy Tuareg women. They were made of copper, iron, silver, brass and sometimes wood. A sandwich type technique was used in lamination.

Tuareg - 1907 Postcard

Tuareg women do not wear a veil, however the men keep their faces covered even when eating.

Tuareg woman wore the elaborate counterweights on their robes and veils as pendants to hold them in place.  The young woman on the left has one under her right arm, as do the two women walking away to the right.

Tuareg Counterweights

The meaning of assrou n´swoul in Tamazight is: key thrown over the shoulder. They are highly prized by both owners and collectors. Blacksmiths are called inadan and are  famous for their metalwork in the Sahara.

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This assrou n´swoul is of the highest quality and the patina confirms its age.

Assrou n´swoul of this standard are extremely rare.

Tuareg History

Descended from Berbers in the region that is now Libya, the Tuareg are descendants of ancient Saharan peoples described by Herodotus, who mentions the ancient Libyan people, the Garamantes. Archaeological testimony is the ruins of Germa. Later, they expanded southward, into the Sahel.
 

The Tuareg (also known as Twareg, Touareg, Amazigh, Imuhagh and  Itargiyen, are a nomadic pastoralist people and the principal inhabitants of the Saharan interior of North Africa. Today the Tuareg inhabit parts of Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso.

For over two millennia, the Tuareg operated the trans Saharan caravan trade connecting the great cities on the southern edge of the Sahara via five desert trade routes to the northern (Mediterranean) coast of Africa.The Tuareg adopted camel nomadism along with its distinctive form of social organization from camel herding Arabs about two thousand years ago, when the camel was introduced to the Sahara from Saudi Arabia. Like numerous African and other groups in pre-modern times, the Tuareg once took captives, either for trade or for domestic purposes; those who were not sold became assimilated into the Tuareg community. Captive servants and herdsmen formed a component of the division of labor of these nomads.

In the late nineteenth century, the Tuareg resisted the French invasion of their Central Saharan homelands for the purpose of colonization. Tuareg broadswords were no match for the more advanced weapons of French squadrons, and after numerous massacres on both sides, the Tuareg were subdued and required to sign treaties in Mali 1905 and Niger 1917. In southern Algeria, the French met some of the strongest resistance from the Ahaggar Tuareg. Their Amenokal, traditional chief Moussa ag Amastan, fought numerous battles in defense of the region. Finally, Tuareg territories were taken under French governance and their confederations were largely dismantled and reorganized.

Niger - Tuareg

Before French colonization, the Tuareg were organized into loose confederations, each consisting of a dozen or so tribes. Each of the main groups had a traditional leader called Amenokal along with an assembly of tribal chiefs. The groups were the Kel Ahaggar, Kel Ajjer, Kel Ayr, Adrar n Fughas, Iwəlləmədan, and Kel Gres.

Following the independence of African countries in 1960s, Tuareg territory was artificially divided into the modern nations of  Niger, Mali, Algeria, Libya and Burkina Faso.

Ethiopian Cross Pendants

Late 19th to early 20th Century

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                                                    Example A                                                                   Example B

Ethiopian crosses have their origin in the Coptic Church, "the Christian church of Egypt", established by Mark in the first century. Over time, Copic teachings spread to Ethiopia, where the representation of the cross further developed. Ethiopian crosses can be so sophisticated that sometimes it is difficult to find the cross in the design! Stylistically, personalized names were given according to the region or towns they were made in, such as Axum, Lalibela, or Gondar.

Ethiopian crosses collected during the last 100 years or more were generally hammered from Maria Theresa silver thalers (dollars). These silver coins were the currency of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Maria Theresa was the empress from 1740 to 1780. In fact, the Maria Theresa thaler served as a trade dollar world wide for 100's of  years. Initially minted in 1782, it is still used today in some places. Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Yemen, Turkey, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Sudan, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, and Chad, are only a beginning list of the countries that have used or still use the Maria Theresa. It was also used in early America.

Brass Bracelet

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We don't know where this bracelet was made.  Someone suggest Tibet.

It has age, is hammered overall and made in two sections so as to achieve a hollowed section.