Welcome to Haramlik.com, the Egyptain Silver Jewelry site. Here, we sell Middle Eastern
Silver jewelry, mostly Bedouin, Arabic and Pharaonic. Since Carter discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922, Egyptian style has had an influence on Western jewelry.
Haramlik is what the western world means by the term 'Harem'. It is actually
two words, 'Haram' and 'lik'. 'Haram' means taboo, and 'Lik' means to you. In short it means "No entry". A Haramlik is actually a house where a nobleman or a Sultan kept his women and thus the place was not to be entered by other men.
Basically, it means "The Forbidden House"
The silver jewelry on this site
will be shipped directly to you from Egypt. Bedouin items are old, original and are no longer being made.
Bedouins nowadays, prefer to melt down their silver jewelry and use that money to buy Gold.
This is the same jewelry that made women feel beautiful from the times of the pharaohs till this day. The same designs, the same primitive handcraft and the same
eastern touch.
Bedouins are nomadic tribes that existed in the middle east from the times of the Pharaohs. They
span an area from Morocco at the Atlantic ocean, on to Egypt, Saudia Arabia, Jordan and Syria. Nomadic tribes
go all the way as far as Afghanistan and even beyond. Although all the bedouins in the Arabic countries are
now arabic speaking and belong to the arabic race, they are a people on their own, they owe no allegiance to any nation
and are only loyal to their own tribe and family. Their constant moving from place to place made them
rely on their silver jewelry which they can exchange for local currency in any nation they happen to be located at.
How the bedouins made their jewelry
A Bedouin bride received jewelry as a dowry. Apart from camels and sheep, a bride got various items of jewelry which
she could later use as currency when in need of money. They usually melted down silver coins and handcrafted it into their
beautiful and original jewlery. This, sadly, is now fast becoming an extinct practice as more and more bedouins settle down and become locals
and citizens of specific nations. This also means that no new generation of craftsmen is emerging and we
are now on the verge of a lost tradition and craft.
Hallmarks
Bedouins never hallmarked (Stamped) their jewelry. Jewelers who bought the jewelry from
them sometimes stamped it. But this was done only in the past 50 years. Items
older than 50 years are seldom hallmarked (stamped) but all are solid silver, ranging between 60%-90% (it is easier to handcraft silver at this percentage range).
In addition, the older pieces usually needed to be taken apart and parts of them used in other items. This
also contributed to the lack of Hallmarks on those items.
The degree of silver content in the Jewelry, varied according to the wealth and status of the Beoduin Family that
owned the jewelry. Also, richer Bedouin Families, tended to use Maria Theresa silver coins because of their high silver content.
Age
As mentioned above, bedouin jewlery on this site ranges in age between 50 years down to late 19th century.
Its impossible to tell the exact date but only a rough estimate based on the style and condition we find
the jewlery in is our guide. In some cases, a coin is used as a pendant and the mint date is visible.
There are of course, some contemporary pieces too but those are the Pharaonic and Arabic items, not the Bedouin Items.
How we chose these items.
The items already on this site, and those that will be later added were all handpicked from old antique dealers in bazars around Cairo.
It's rare to find an actual item in good condition, what is usually done is that we pick those that are in the best condition which is
why we don't update the site too often.
Pharaonic items
While bedouin women used jewelry for adornment and commerce, Pharaonic women used their jewelry for adornment and for religious reasons portrayed
in the symbols and ideograms on their jewelry. Naturally, the Pharaonic items are all contemporary but still hand crafted by Egyptian craftsmen.
