Silver necklace with amulet holders

Necklace with three amulet boxes alternating with four yellow and eight black and silver beads. The beads were probably imported from India or Nepal. The jewelry is in the style of the Muslim blacksmiths of the Hadramaut region of Yemen (info Marjorie Ransom, 2017). This necklace was acquired in Jerusalem, indicating use by a Yemeni Jewish woman.‖ The color most commonly used in Yemeni jewelry is red (coral, glass, or plastic). Amulet holders in Yemenite jewelry are cylindrical, triangular, rectangular or square in shape. They were usually worn on chains. Small amulet holders were also pinned or sewn onto clothing of children. In Yemen, amulet holders were worn by both Muslims and Jews. For Yemeni Muslims, they served as a container for papers with Koran verses or Arabic holy wishes. For Yemeni Jews the amulets often consisted of prayers, (parts of) biblical texts or kabbalistic formulas, written in Hebrew or Aramaic. Sometimes pieces of textile, soaked in perfume, were added, possibly to chase away evil spirits. We often do not know whether a holder actually contains an amulet, because many amulet holders are soldered shut at both sides. But even without content, amulet holders, regardless of their shape, are attributed a protective value. When necklaces were sold, the owners would often remove the amulets from the holder themselves, to avoid dishonouring the amulets.The largest amulet box is decorated with a rosette of filigree, with granules, soldered diamond-shaped silver plates and with profiled silver wire that has been fitted with pearl frames using a hand-driven roller. The two small boxes are additionally decorated with stamped rosettes. A link chain is attached to the top with a ring and pin clasp. The silver spherical beads consist of two parts that have been soldered together. At the openings the beads have a profiled edge of silver wire. The four yellow beads are possibly (imitation) amber.