Vintage
Persian & Middle East Turquoise Jewelry Examples
Classically
Persian Turquoise Jewelry has been made mainly from 22k gold. Today
Persians make silver and Turquoise jewelry as well as gold and Turquoise
jewelry.
Gold
and turquoise beads from a necklace, 19th-early 20th century Saudi Arabia
Fabricated from sheet, wire, and swaged wire, decorated with granulation,
set with turquoise; Max. L. of bead 1 3/5 in. (4.05 cm), Max. Diam.
4/5 in. (2 cm)
Further
confirming the Arabian Peninsula as a region rich in the tradition of
jewelry art are these remarkable hollow gold and turquoise beads from
a necklace that was probably completed by additional sections of beads,
most likely Turquoise bead and coral beads, somewhat irregularly
shaped. These beads might have been considered medieval were it not
for their place of origin and the corroborating evidence of the origin
of related types. While these beads have distinctive individual features
not known on medieval pieces (most notably, the large set turquoises),
analogies-particularly of form-with earlier pieces are obvious. The
granulation work and the overall technical control of these gold and
turquoise beads are of such high quality, and their design of such classical
proportions, that we may well wonder whether they represent the survival
of an as-yet-unknown medieval type.
Persian
(Now Iranian) people prefer Turquoise in gold over Turquoise in silver
jewelry. A lot of the Persian Turquoise jewelry is very victorian style
as is the Tibetan, Asian and early European Turquose jewelry. The way
that Persians use Turquoise in gold jewelry shows the way that the Persians
respect Turquoise and treat is more of a highend gemstone then a semi-precious
gemstone as Americans treat it.
Even
today Sheiks and wealthy Persians can be seen sporting Turquoise jewelry
with highend natural American Turquoise and Persian Turquoise. These
Sheiks have been know to commission artists in the Southwest to creat
highend Turquoise Jewelry for them made from natural American Turquoise
in gold and silver. These Sheiks have even commissioned several Native
American artists to make custom jewelry for them to take back to Iran
and wear.
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