Childrens silver bracelet

Unknown artist

Silver bracelet, part of a pair. Given the small size of this bracelet, it was made for children. This is an old school Berber ornament with particularly fine and precise stabbed ornament. Provided with a stamp with signature or silver mark.‖ The band was cut from a sheet of silver by means of a chisel; then the silversmith, using a burin and on a kind of wooden anvil, engraved the decorative motifs. The excavated areas were then filled with a black fabric. This material is made of resin from a tree (Taqqa = Juniper, genévrier oxydère). The resin melts by heating and is poured over the band, which is also heated and even hotter. The resin fills the reliefs and after cooling, the excess resin is ground away with a file. The band is bent into a circular shape and the ends are welded together. Finally, the bands are polished, so that the contrast of the shiny white silver against the brown-black filling is clearly visible.