FEZ, LATE 18TH CENTURY

The form of this necklace is one of great lineage in this region. A famous necklace in the Metropolitan Museum of Art that dates back to the 15th century Nasrid period in Spain has a large central pendant roundel suspended on a band with tubular beads very similar in concept to those found here (Jerrilynn D. Dodds (ed.), Al-Andalus, exhibition catalogue, New York, 1992, no.73, pp.302-3). That necklace also has a third form of panel on it that are the forerunners of the popular khamseh or "hand of Fatima" pendants of Morocco. The cylindrical beads can be traced back earlier; a silver gilt example dated to the Umayyad period is in the Archaeological Museum, Madrid (Valérie Gonzalez, Emaux d'al-Andalus et du Maghreb, Aix-en-Provence, 1994, pl.57, p.90). A number of different designs of tazra are illustrated by Jean Besancenot (Bijoux arabes et berbres du Maroc, Casablanca, 1953, nos.10-22, pls.V-VII). The present example is larger and more solid in appearance than all. A very impressive similar but diamond-set example is in a private collection in Morocco; it however lacks the cylindrical beads on the necklace (Abderrahman Slaoui, Parures en Or du Maroc, Casablanca, 1999, pp.122-3). A more similar example sold in these Rooms, 23 October 2007, lot 457.