Vintage Yemen Bib Necklace Called Libba

This is a mid-century libba bib necklace from Yemen. Worn in Yemen but also in Saudi Arabia. This necklace is made of four rows of metal beads with lots of spherical dangles. The first row is strung with black beads in between the square elements. From there, the elements are connected with a series of rings. The necklace is attached to a short metal chain on both ends with an S-closure.

A similar libba necklace is illustrated in Heather Colyer Ross' s book The Art of Bedouin Jewellery. In her book, she astutely remarked that the original design of the libba necklace may have been influenced by the chainmail armor worn by Crusaders.

The necklace may have some silver content, but is mostly a metal alloy.

Dimensions:

• Length x depth is 26 x 12.5 cm (10 1/2 x 5") without the chain.
• The length of the necklace with the chain is 44 cm (17 1/2")
• Weight is 261 g.