Tuareg cross

 

Tuareg cross 

This is a traditional jewellery Taureg cross. It is a pendant made from silver with lost wax. The father gives his son the cross whenever they are travelling as a gift (Hague 2022).

Hindu

 

Hindu Dowry

Dowry is a traditional Indian jewellery. It can be made with various materials such as cash or jewellery.

The dowry is worn during the wedding day in Hindu culture. The Indian Dowry refers to the durable goods that serves as exchanging goods for cash, and the bride’s family gives it to the groom (Wikipedia contributors 2023b). 

Crusaders cost price

 

Cash crusaders

I went to cash crusaders at Devan port center to ask if they can buy my jewellery. They ask me what kind of material my jewellery is made of, I said sterling silver and they told me that now they are only buying jewellery that is made

out of gold. Nonetheless, they are also selling gold jewellery and their price ranges from R300 for 9ct and for 18ct is R800. On the shop, they buy and loan against gold jewellery only (Anon). 

silver granules

Silver granules

 

The cost price for fine silver from the CPM price list is R12.50 without an alloy. Once you add an alloy from fine silver it is now called sterling silver, “is an alloy composed by weight of 92.5% silver and 7.5 other metal usually copper” (“What is sterling silver - Google Search” n.d.) . From a jewellery point of view, if you have 20 grams of fine silver, you then need to alloy for the metal to be hardened. This is a formular to calculate an alloy (rate of silver x weight of silver x purity of silver). In this case R12.50 x 20 grams x 1000 divided by 925 = R270.27. 

Gold nugget

 

Gold nugget

On the image above is a 24ct fine nugget of yellow gold (Wikipedia contributors 2010). The symbol of fine gold is Au. The price of 24ct gold per gram today is R1 200.07. There are different types of alloys made from 24ct fine gold, which are 18ct and 9ct gold.

According to the CPM price list, there prices for 18ct white gold of (10% Pd) price per gram is R1 014.37 and 9ct white of (10% pd) cost price is R571.48 (Accessed 27 March 2023). 

Ingqhosha

Ingqhosha beaded collar

Ingqhosha is a Xhosa collar worn over the shoulders. It is a traditional collar made from glass beads. This beaded collar was worn both by men and women as markers of social roles and status (“Beaded collar (ingqosha), Xhosa artist, South Africa (article) | Khan Academy” n.d.). 

Zulu love letter

 

Zulu love letter

This Zulu love letter is worn around the neck. It is a necklace made from beads. In this case it looks like it was made with a brick stitch.  It is a traditional jewellery that was made by a maiden communicating with her man telling him that she was ready for marriage (Anneroselt 2018). 

Indian Mangalsutra

 

Mangalsutra necklace

Mangalsutra is traditional Indian jewellery, it is a necklace made from black beads and gold.  It is given to the bride by the groom and it shows that she is married (Raniwala 2022)

Roman

 

Roman ring

This is an ancient Roman signet ring. It is made from gold and bloodstone. I quote “The engraved gem would be pressed into wax, impressing the shape of the image carved into its surface” (Virginia & Virginia 2019).  In ancient Rome, higher ranking officials used signet as a form of royal mark. It was easy to identify the status of an individual who was wearing a specific ring like this one. 

Ancient Egypt

 

Maniature broad collar

This is a miniature broad collar for ancient Egyptian culture. It is made from gold, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and carnelian. The outline of this collar is forged or soldered. This broad collar was depicted through pharaohs, but it was

meant to lie across the chest of a divine statuette.   (“Miniature broad collar | early Ptolemaic Period | The Metropolitan Museum of Art” n.d.) 

Turkmen culture

 

Sinsile headdress crown

This is a traditional Sinsile headdress crown for Turkmen culture. It is made from various materials such as silver, silver shot, table cut carnelians, turquoise beads and gilded chains. In this case, the headdress was worn by young girls in daily life to indicate that they are unmarried  (“Crown | The Metropolitan Museum of Art” n.d.).

Ndebele

 

IJogolo apron 

IJogolo is a traditional apron worn by Ndebele women. It is an apron made from glass beads, thread and plain leather. IJogolo serves as a marital status for a women in Ndebele culture (“Married Woman’s Apron (Ndebele peoples) (article) | Khan Academy” n.d.).

Spin off

Spin off

 This is how it might look like if I make it into a bracelet. 

Found object

Spin off

 While I was making this prototype, at first I thought of making earrings. But now I am thinking of making it into a bracelet.

Spin off

 

Brass metal

I have band this metal into a three dimensional form looking at the found object that Songezo gave me.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

 Now that the mechanism seems to be working. I have started stitching the neckpiece.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

 Now I have soldered cube on both parts of the neckpiece.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko 

 I have cut it into two equal parts for opening and closing mechanism.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko 

This is how the neckpiece looked like before cutting it into two parts. 
 

Majiko-jiko

Sterling silver neckpiece

Ndisaphumlile ekwenzeni lentsimbi yasemqaleni, ngokuba isandixakekisa. While I was busy making this neckpiece, I felt the need of taking a break because it was frustrating me. The proportion of it seems not right. Songezo Baleni gave me a found object.

Object

Found object

This is a found object that Songezo Baleni gave me.  

Object

Drawing

Yimizobo yento echoliweyo. Just a quick sketch from the found object. 

Bamboo hat

Kazi ukuba ndiyithanda iyeyokuhombisa kuzothini na?

Ikhubalo

Ikhubalo necklace

This is ikhubalo necklace that in a Xhosa culture a woman who has a baby would wear if her baby is teething. According to Khethiwe from Phansi museum, the brown wood/sticks is ikhubalo a traditional herb that heals baby gums when teething (Assessed 12 October 2023).

Inqawe

Inqawe

This is a smoking pipe from the Xhosa tribe. It was used by Xhosa women. You would identify it with the length that it is for women. They would use it while they are breastfeeding a baby. The man pipes are shorter, from(Phansi museum,12 October 2023). 

Ukuthunga

 

Cable knitting

Cable kitting is a style of knitting in which textures of crossing layers are achieved by process of stitches. 

Metal prep

Brass metal

Metal preparation for the Majiko-jiko neckpiece.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

This is how it sits on the buster. I used a buster to see how it is going to fit or look like as a wearable jewellery piece.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

It was hard to band the metal, I even forgot how the pattern of the cubes must be like.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

I had to anneal the cubes to soften the metal, in that way I could band the symmetrical shapes easily.

Majiko-jiko

Majiko-jiko

I titled this piece as Majiko-jiko. It comes from a Xhosa word meaning up and down.

Metal prep

Brass metal 

A neckpiece spin-off made out of oval brass cubes.

Metal prep

Brass cubes 

 To soften the metal, you should anneal.  

fortnight lily

The African Iris, also known as Fornight Lily, has sword-shaped leaves that grow in a fan-like pattern and beautiful white iris-like flowers that extend above. African iris blooms best when it gets full sun for six hours or more