DepartmentMiddle East

hijāb or hegab

NameNecklace

CulturePalestinian

Dateca. 1910

Possibly madeBEERSHEBA AREA, Historic Palestine, Middle East or West Asia, Asia

Mediumsilver

Dimensionsoverall: 52 CM X 9 CM

Credit LineIFAF Collection

Object numberFA.1972.25.3 I

Collections

Palestinian Dress and Jewelry

DescriptionWith rectangular amulet. Niello work on both sides of amulet.

FA. 72.25-31 Hijab (ca. 1910) (Fig. 45) Known as a hijab, this amulet consists of a thin, rectangular silver container with niello decoration. The container has seven rings attached to it from which hang chains and coins. The central chain ends in an inverted crescent, from which three coins are suspended. The coins all date from A.H. 1327 (A.D. 1909-10) and are badly worn. The container is to hold a charm known as a hirz, a folded piece of paper with a religious inscription.20 The Maghrebi variant of this amulet is, in fact, called hirz by extension.21 In Egypt, on the other hand, it is called ḥegab, as in Palestinian usage.2 This hijab is suspended from a delicate silver chain with figure-eight links. Length of chain: 52 cm. (Palestinian Costume and Jewelry, Yedida Kalfon Stillman, 1979 ISBN: 0-82630490-7)