Women's headband

Unknown artist

The color red (dark red glass and orange-red coral) of the glass beads on this headband is associated with life, fertility and blood, and is said to stop bleeding and inflammation. The belief in the protective and healing power of the color is independent of the material from which the bead is made.‖ Jewelry in which silver coins are part of the decoration was popular in Yemen. This custom still exists today: preference is given to gold coins because they are more valuable and more enduring than silver. In addition to being decorative, coins are also meant to show the wealth of the wearer. \Both coins and old jewellery served as the starting material for new jewellery. Depending on the wishes of the client, the base material was mixed with base metals to create larger pieces of jewelry. Some silversmiths added the height of the silver content by means of a punched silver plate that was soldered onto the jewellery or on the stamp with their name, indicating mukhlas (pure) or nisf (half) (Mols 2011: 58).‖ The head ornament consists of two leather bands sewn together and decorated on the front with chains of braided silver wire. Around this network of silver wire are two different types of silver attachments: six square ones decorated with a large dark red glass bead surrounded by profiled silver wire and granules and four rectangular ones with pairs of smaller orange beads, made of wood or plastic. Between two square attachments there is a pin and hinge clasp. For decoration, there are also two strung orange beads and a silver Saudi coin of a quarter qirsh. The two leather straps are laced together with a leather thread.