Livre - Bedouin jewellery in Saudi Arabia

The wider world has known of the charm and skill of Bedouin jewellery for only a handful of years. It has come about as a result of the swiftly increasing interest in the Arab world. Yet the jewellery of the Bedouin, in their desert heartland of Saudi Arabia, has been an artistic fact for thousands of years. The Bedouin life precludes art on a grand scale. Everything must be carried – on the head, upon the body, on the back of the camel. Thus there is poetry, sometimes rugs - and jewellery. The jewellery is at once unique in the field of bodily decoration worldwide, and linked by cultural association to the work, thought and custom of the entire Arab world, and, indeed, beyond the Arab world. The inventive and intricate workmanship devoted to necklaces, anklets, bracelets, finger-rings, earrings, pendants, buckles, amulet cases and other ornaments for the brides of the desert is today ardently sought by the Western visitor to the country, where, until recently, the wandering Bedouin was master. Now industrial society, with its familiar combination of boon and bane, menaces the survival of this remarkable craft tradition. This is what makes this book so very timely – a record of, and a testimony to, the range and brilliance of work that belongs to the heart of Arabia. Heather Colyer Ross has admired gems and jewellery since childhood, and during her rune years’ residence in Saudi Arabia she has studied and researched the craft of Bedouin jewellery and has built up an outstanding collection, Born in Australia in 1936, Heather Colyer Ross has had a number of careers, beginning work as a stenographic law clerk. Always interested in creative activities, she became known in Melbourne for her design and decor accomplishments. With her husband, Barry, she went to Saudi Arabia in 1969. There she became the first Western woman to be awarded contract with the Government to research, write and broadcast various programmes on Radio Riyadh’s English Service. An acknowledged expert on Bedouin jewellery in Saudi Arabia, Heather Colyer Ross outlines the traditional life of the Bedouin, investigates the historical influences from many countries which have affected the design of the jewellery and describes the craft of the silversmith, his tools and materials.