Chinese silver needle cases During the Qing dynasty, a young woman’s future depended largely upon her expertise with a needle. Embroidering was one of the important features sought by men when choosing a wife. From an early age of seven or eight, a little girl practiced her sewing and needlework skills every day until she could produce the delicate stitches and complex designs. Sewing was a very important occupation for women, from all social classes, and she was taught to sew before how to write or read. Given the importance of embroidery in her life, it’s not surprising that a silver needle case, often presented to a young girl as her dowry present was central to a [...]

Skhab scented necklaces There’s a type of adornment in Northern Africa that is well known in all Maghreb: the scented beads necklace, called “Skhab”, which has a symbolic and ritual meaning, due to the perfume it exhaled. It is mainly used in Algeria and Tunisia, while in Morrocco, the used of cloves for the same purposes is more extended. The origin of these necklaces is not clear. Some researchers claim it to be of Berber origin (P. Eudel), while others think that they might have come with the Arab invasion. The used of these perfumed necklaces is widespread in rural Algeria and Tunisia, but it’s also well known in big cities, where women can buy them from jewelry [...]

BERBER WOMEN OF MOROCCO   I’ve visited this week this magnificent exhibition in the Yves Saint-Laurent Foundation located in Paris, not far from the Quai Branly Museum. The quality of the jewels exhibited is amazing, items which are impossible to see on the market anymore.  A big part of them are from the own collection of Yves Saint Laurent and normally on display at the Berber Museum at the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh, a city he loved and visited many times from the 60’s, even before it was on the tourist route of many low-cost air companies. The exhibition is centered on different issues related to the daily lives of Berber women and around their specific skills in [...]