Berber Wedding/Dowry Necklace

A wedding necklace that takes up the full width of the conversation.

This wedding or dowry necklace is Berber, from Morocco, and dates to the 20th century. It is made from antique, vintage and assorted beads. Among Berber families in Morocco, jewelry has long served as a woman's own wealth and a public mark of marriage. Huge orange beads, some with metal staples, alternate with pale clay discs along the strand. Between them sit dense clusters of smaller beads in turquoise, red, blue and green, with a shell tucked in. Black wool cords tie it off. It measures 46 inches wide.

Heavy, yes. Nobody ever suggested marriage would not be.