Keywords: Sa - Woman's Headband - Walters 572309 - Detail A.jpg The broad silver headband consists of a flexible tightly interlaced band which has shield-shaped end-pieces and seven movable retainers with rhombic elements End-pieces and retainers are executed in embossing and filigree technique; in addition they are gilded and the background is filled with green enamel The floral decor on the end pieces combines different shaped leaves and stalks; and the rhombic elements display four three-foil attachments arranged around a central five-ball granulation cluster The motifs of the end-pieces and retainers are framed with bead-molding borders Such silver headbands formed the basis of a woman's headpiece The large loops at the end-pieces were used to fix the band at the headscarf and the smaller loops on the rhombic elements to fasten smaller often ball-shaped dangles Headpieces such as this were common in northern regions of Yemen The back of the end pieces has an Arabic stamp with the name of the ruling imam and the date al-Mahdi 1171 Al-Mahdi al- Abbas was the imam of Yemen from AH 1161 to 1189 AD 1748-1775 and belonged to then Qasimid family In 1762/63 he met the German explorer Carsten Niebuhr who reported on this encounter An engraving in Hebrew on the back of the other end-piece names the silversmith Sa'id Iraqi The Hebrew script clearly states that the silversmith was Jewish and the name indicates that he or his family originally came from Iraq 1171 AH/AD 1757-1758 silver with gilding and enamel L 15 3/4 x W of end-pieces 1 3/16 in 40 x 3 cm accession number 57 2309 80913 Mr Benjamin Zucker Zucker Family Trust and Mr Derek Content New York and London by purchase Walters Art Museum Joint gift to the Walters Art Museum Baltimore and the Israel Museum Jerusalem by Mr Benjamin Zucker and Mr Derek Content in honor of Mrs Barbara Zucker and Mrs Amanda Content 2010 Stamp In Arabic al-Mahdi 1171; Engraved In Hebrew Sa'id 'Iraqi place of origin Raydah Yemen Walters Art Museum license Jewellery in the Walters Art Museum South Arabian art in the Walters Art Museum Sa'id 'Iraqi Media contributed by the Walters Art Museum needs category review |