Antique Turkoman Purse

Women's belt purse or possibly amulet case. Turkmenistan. Low or no silver alloy. Early 20th century. Triangular conical shape, small fitted lid connected to the purse by chains. The entire purse is suspended by chains connected to ring that is actually a traditional form of earring worn by the Waziri, a Karlani Pashtun tribe found mainly in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region. The front and back of the purse are decorated in almost identical style with engraving that includes flower and leaf motifs as well as an animal's head. The many dangles are terminated with traditional double leaf pendants.

The vast number of dangles are intended to create a pleasant musical sound when worn.

Objects such as these have been called perfume purses, designed to hold perfumed cotton or solid perfume. However this piece does not have the pierced holes traditionally associated with pomanders. It may have functioned as an amulet case or simply as a decorative purse. While I cannot find anything similar on the internet or in my many reference books, this is the second piece that we have seen in 50 years of trading at Kashgar in this exact form (the first being made of solid silver and dating to the later part of the 19th century). As such, we must conclude that it is in fact a traditional (if rare) piece of Central Asian ornament.

Measurements:height approx 25 cm (10"), dimensions of box approx 7 x 7 x 2.5 cm

There are a very small number of dangles missing, which do not affect the appearance of the piece.