Asaba Chaui Headband

Asaba Chaui Diadem (Aurés region, Algeria)

The Chaui are Berber nomads who speak their own language and who find their home and homeland in the peaks of the Aurés and on the slopes that overlook the desert. They are also very brave people who were always resistant to any foreign interference and who ended up rising up against anyone who came to impose foreign times and customs. Their jewelry and enamels are known throughout the Maghreb.

The diadem that we present was made, a long time ago, by a jeweler from Jenchela or El Kantara and consists of three articulated plates of chiseled low Berber silver, on which small brass sheets decorated with triangles and floral motifs are superimposed. Sixteen oval cabochons of carnelian, a type of agate that promotes fertility, are arranged regularly along the diadem, acting as stern and watchful eyes. From the lower edges of the crown hang little braided chains finished in floral shoots that predict high fertility and help keep the bearer's eyes hidden from the envy of single women. It is, evidently, a wedding crown that many Chaui women have surely worn, generation after generation.

Width: 6cm; Height: 6.5cm; Weight: 300g