veil weight

These decorative keys (for which there are no locks, at least not for these large types) called asaru or aswel in Tamacheq, are worn by Tuareg women, who attach them to the end bit of their head and shoulder cloth (afer, adalil), and which then is thrown over one shoulder, the weight of the key preventing the cloth from falling forward, while at the same time being a decorative feature with protective qualities.

object
MUSEUM NUMBER
2007.153
Date
before December 2005
PLACE
COLLECTION
MEASUREMENTS
overall: 187 mm x 50 mm x 3 mm
MATERIAL/TECHNIQUE
silver
CATEGORY
Anthropology: Ethnography
LOCATION
World Gallery > Africa > Tuareg - people of the void
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Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

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