Featured Yemeni? Necklace

I believe when I got this it was described as Yemeni. Haven’t seen one exactly like it but the style seems to fit. Can anyone help to confirm or deny that description?

 

Perhaps @Any Jewelry can ID?

 

Nice find, J. I think it is a Nandi horn amulet case from southern India. They are pretty rare.
Here is one from the state of Uttar Pradesh, in the south:

https://indianamulets.com.au/produc...ian-amulet-uttar-pradesh-nandi-horns-pendant/

A similar idea, but smaller and from Rajasthan, in the north:

https://www.karmalie.com/en/ciondolo-amuleto-tribale-argento

 

Apologies for the late reply, judy.

 

Not a problem for me AJ........and I doubt anyone else needs an apologie.

You answered the call!

TY!

 

Oops, not very thorough. Nandi is a bull, and the mount of Shiva. The case is shaped like bull's horns, as a reference to Nandi.

If I am right that it is indeed a Nandi horn amulet case from southern India, that is.

 

Thanks so much AJ! I thought it was pretty neat. Found a seller with a few pretty nice items for pretty reasonable prices on a local marketplace app. Southern India certainly explains why Yemen didn’t provide an exact match. I’m going to assume you are correct in your ID

The end caps do not come off like others. Mine is a solid piece. So it’s not actually functional for holding a prayer like some are it seems. It makes a really wonderful sound when it’s moved as all the danglies are little bells!

 

There is an overlap in certain Yemeni and Indian styles, through trade. The Yemeni Hadramaut region especially, was involved in the trade network across the Arabian sea, and even along the Indian Ocean. There is even an old Hadrami Yemeni community in Indonesia, on the other side of the Indian Ocean.

Many amulet/prayer cases are soldered shut. Those are the ones that often contain something.

 

@J Dagger , I just came across this:

https://www.somalispot.com/threads/somali-jewelry.110635/

So I wonder if your necklace is Somali?
The Horn of Africa is very close to Yemen, with just a strip of sea between them. Because of its location on the Gulf of Aden, the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, Somalia has been part of the trade of the larger region, resulting in a cultural influence from other countries along the seas.

 

Well those are pretty convincing results. So were the Indian ones though. I seem to find a lot of stuff where it’s hard to definitively call it one way or another. Maybe they just both used about the same design. Interesting to know that soldered is likely to have a treat inside. Would be cool to be able I see it.

 

That is the problem with international trade. Which has been going on for thousands of years in the Indian-Arab-East African region.
I like how designs and cultural influences spread, but it often makes an ID very difficult, even impossible.