Vintage Afghan Kuchi Tribal Necklace

Vintage Afghan Kuchi Tribal Necklace

An antique bold necklace handmade by the Kuchi tribe using melted down metals such as tin, brass, and silver adorned with colored glass and small bells. 

This is a chance to truly appreciate a bit of Afghan/Pakistani history and the beauty of the culture of the nomadic Pashtoon tribes that wander the border areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, along ancient routes between the seasons, moving down from the mountains in the winter and back to their homes in the summer.
The jewelry of this wandering people incorporates design elements from many cultures including those of India, the Middle East, Central Asia and the tribal areas of the former Soviet Union. These jewelry artists used coins, bells, and large colorful glass jewels to produce lovely chokers, necklaces, cuff bracelets, pendants, belts, rings, earrings, headpieces and more completely by hand, often in centuries-old designs. They even incorporated bead work or embroidery.

The word Kuchi itself is derived from a Persian word meaning migration, in relation to nomads or gypsies, and does not describe a particular group or people, but rather a state of being. Many different peoples or tribes from these areas have been classified as Kuchi but the original migratory nomads of this area are the Pashtoon.

The Kuchi are fiercely independent, usually wreathed in silver necklaces and dressed in spangling embroidery, and they stare boldly back from atop their camels when you cross them on the roads. Kuchi jewelry, like the jewelry of India and other tribal places and peoples, often incorporates jewels of transparent colored glass set in and backed with foil to reflect light in every shade of the rainbow. Shining mirrors, metallic thread, colorful beads, pom poms, cloves and other fragrant materials, bright fabrics and thousands of different kinds of dangles and bells also serve to attract the eye and ward off evil spirits.

This piece is sourced by Afghan refugees that we work with in Pakistan. It has a large statement centerpiece detailed in jewels and colored glass. 

A unique, very special statement piece!