A YEMENI SILVER AMULET SCROLL HOLDER (HIRZ OR K'TAB)
Yemen, Arabian Peninsula, first half 20th century

Of cylindrical shape with dome-like terminals, the exterior characterised by several concentric and overlapping geometric bands of granulation, with a central diamond-shaped medallion reverberating towards the edges, at the top a large circular hanging hoop, the hollow interior empty, once meant to contain inscribed scrolls with Quranic passages, special prayers or geomantic symbols.

6cm x 14cm

120gr.

Silver scroll and prayer holders like the present example are prominent jewellery accessories across all the Arabian Peninsula. Countries like Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia have been producing these talismans for centuries, and their features tend to be analogous. For an Omani specimen: René van der Star, Ethnic Jewellery from Africa, Asia, and Pacific Islands, 2008, p. 54. For a comparable hirz pendant from Yemen: Heather Colyer Ross, The Art of Bedouin Jewellery: A Saudi Arabian Profile, 1981, p. 62. This example is strung on a necklace made out of different parts, highlighting how these ornaments were not only passed down from one generation to the other, but they were also travelling from one place to another, following their wearers' wanderings and varied walks of life.

More published references: Anne Leurquin, Ceintures ethniques d'Afrique, d'Asie, d'Océanie, ed d'Amérique de la collection Ghysels, 2004, p. 112; and Rachel Hasson, Later Islamic Jewellery, 1987, p. 91, cat. 125.