Featured Yemen Filigree Beaded Necklace, Bowsani? Any ideas to age?

Hi, I pulled this out when I was unpacking old jewelry I'd boxed up years ago. Although I believe this to be Yemen, I can't find anything online with this much fine detail in an open filigree design with such beautiful granulation, but neither is it as big and bulky as most of the bridal jewelry. Hook and eye closure, unmarked, but absolutely stunning work, and measures 20". Any ideas and opinions are very welcomed!

 

Welcome, NFLgirl. (NFL = not for long, right?) Very pretty necklace. Some of the people we have who may know something about it are in places where it is late night now, so give us a little time. Meanwhile, might be good to go through all the links & make sure the rings are well closed. They were not soldered; I see some that are more open than one would want.

 

Thank you and I will do that. It's funny that you would mention that not for long referrence to the NFL acronym. I used to work for the National Football League and we used to joke that it really meant : "Not For Long". LOL

 

Welcome to Antiquers.

 

LOVE IT !!! ... Joy.

 

When I first began to see it, I thought LOL = lots of luck.

 

The photos are too out of focus to see the details of the balls,but it could have been made in at any one of at least 30 countries.

 

Here is a close up of one of the filigree balls.

 

I tightened the rings, and noticed that one side to every ball is soldered, and looking at the links under a loupe, it looks like the other side had been cut. So, I'm thinking this may have been taken from another setting and made into this necklace?

 

I wouldn't rely on the description:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/361351424701

 

Suspect they were designed this way, that wires that attach one to another are part of the bead. Only one side needs to be open to link a bunch of them together.

 

Welcome! I'm betting @Any Jewelry will recognize this. Yemenite, Turkish....?

 

Wow, you're amazing, and thank you! This tests closer to 800 silver than 925. That one doesn't have the granulation or the little chevron pattern inside the rim of each filigree "petal", but very similar indeed!

 

I think yours is prettier & more interesting. Are the beads all exactly alike, indicating molded, or a bit more free form? I realize it's probably hard to compare one to another.

 

Testing won't give you a correct purity number,everything is coated with a heavy layer of solder.

 

Well they are graduated and there are 2 of each bead, varying only slightly in size as they get larger until they reach the largest one in the middle. They look hand made, but very difficult to tell if they are exact, because there are so many sides to try and compare. The "petals" that make up each ball, as I call them, are not identical, and have slight variations.

 

It's lovely !!

 

She was who immediately came to mind when I saw this piece. My bet is she will also covet it greatly.

 

Welcome, NFLgirl. Gorgeous necklace.
It certainly looks Middle Eastern, and could be Yemenite made. Yemenite is the term for Israelis whose ancestors lived in Yemen for hundreds, even thousands of years.
But as Holly pointed out, it could have been made in various countries. The technique of making filigree was introduced in the region centuries ago by Armenian silversmiths.

The Bawsani family are famous Yemeni Jewish silversmiths who adopted the filgree technique in the late 19th century.
This 'Solomon and Sheba Gates' pendant is in the Yemeni Bawsani style. My apologies for the quality, I'll see if I can take a better photo later on:

As you can see (I hope), it is filigree decorated with lozenges, discs, and flower shapes.

Yemeni Jewish silversmiths began to settle in Palestine just before 1900, because of the tourist boom.
Your necklace was made later, I think mid 20th century. It is not in the specific Bawsani style, and it is impossible to say who made it. My guess is it is not Yemenite, maybe Palestinian, Syrian, that general feel. A silver fineness of ca 800 is not unusual in the region.
It is a beautiful necklace, whoever made it, wonderful to see and to wear.

Most Bawsanis have left Yemen for Israel, but the style was continued by people who worked for them. In recent years thare has been a revival of Yemeni silversmithing, largely inspired by the work of the Jewish Bedihi and Bawsani families.