Featured Egyptian Ring, Maybe...

I bought this ring on eBay about 10 years ago from a guy who's fairly notorious for selling fake antiquities. It was labeled as "Egyptian from the 18th century" and I bid 99 cents and was surprised I actually received it in the mail. Anyway, it's kind of cool, but I have no clue to its real original or age. Yemen maybe? Bedouin? It's not silver. Some sort of alloy. The cones/flowers are hollow. Anybody know?

 

We've had something like this before, & I seem to remember it was @Any Jewelry who knew all about it.

 

99 cents, wonderful!

Well, not all. Just a bit.
It is from Dagestan, a republic in the Russian part of the Caucasus. These are said to be Jewish engagement or wedding rings. My guess is it dates from the first half of the 20th century.

 

Wow! You guys are amazing! All I can find with my google-fu are photos with dead links but it will be fun to research...

 

how do you know such detail as it is from dagestan aj?i think i need to learn from you

 

I'm not having much luck on internet info except the one photo above. Any Jewelry, do you have a link or maybe a book recommendation?

 

Hey, i need help, thanks for that. I saw that photo on a search but couldn't narrow it down on Etsy. I was just wondering if three cones signified anything. The text mentions it's "architectural." Dagestan seems to be an interesting tribal area and very tragic for the Jewish populace.

 

Thanks. I've found information about the history. Not much about the jewelry. That Etsy page mentioned Fiddler on the Roof - I haven't seen that movie in ages

 

That's to the photo I posted, I think.

 

I collect ethnic jewellery, and the Caucasus is a major silver manufacturing region. In this thread are some of my Dagestani rings:
https://www.antiquers.com/threads/id-gemstone-in-antique-dagestan-rings-please.17985/

 

My own computer with more info (not much) has crashed, but I'll see if I can find something. I get most of my Dagestani pieces from Dagestanis here in the Netherlands.
One link, which shows the beauty of Caucasian jewellery, but also the need for more information (start with the last comment and read your way up):
http://ethnicjewels.ning.com/photo/ring-caucasian?test-locale=&exposeKeys=&xg_pw=&xgsi=&id=5416612hoto:325982&groupId=&groupUrl=&xgi=&page=1#comments

Dagestan is not tribal. It has many ethnicities but no tribes. There is a difference, the Netherlands has different native ethnicities as well, but none of those are considered tribes. The population of both countries are descendants of tribes, just like the rest of the world population, but the tribal period was a very long time ago.
Just to compare, Indonesia, where you currently live, has both tribal and non-tribal ethnicities, as do Sweden and Finland.

Anyway, because of the many ethnicities and cultures Dagestan is an extremely interesting country, and a hub on the Silk Road. I love trade routes and their spread of culture, and to me the most interesting routes in the world are the Silk Road and the Spice Route.
I don't know if you found this link:
https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/326327-peoples-of-dagestan-diverse-population

I loved the movie, but as far as I can remember it was situated in the Ukraine, not Dagestan.
As for the listing, I consider the mention of the movie 'keyword spam'. I would find it very strange if the Mountain Jews of Dagestan spoke Yiddish, like in the story. They are of Persian Jewish descent.
More on the Mountain Jews in general:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_Jews#Soviet_times,_Holocaust_and_modern_history

 

yes i think you are faster than google search in those jewelry field,haha

 

Yes, using Fiddler is definitely keyword candy. It was just a reminder that I haven't listened to the music since I was a kid. I know so little about Dagestan and the Mountain Jews. That's what's so interesting about this ring - it's an introduction to something new. Thanks for helping

 

Those rings are beautiful. As far as Sumatra goes, the tribal days are long past, except for the Mentawi. If a tribe wants to stay a tribe, they have to fight for that privilege I guess... like what's happening in the Andamans now.

 

I don't know why that man wanted to endanger that tribe so badly, we all know what the outcome can be for the tribe. Sad for the man's family, but for the tribe it was the best thing to do.
There are still people who live tribally in many parts of the world, but it is often a struggle against rules imposed by outside bureaucracies. As the Mentawai have also experienced.

 

That's why I hang around here.