Antique Silver and Coral Uzbek Nose Ring

Antique nose ring made with silver and coral, locally known as arabek. Women wore the nose ring through the septum to protect their breath from evil spirits. This kind of nose ring served and continues to serve as a marker of the ethnic identity of women from the Arab communities that descended from ancestors in the 16th century.

The nose ring is shaped like a hoop with a threaded flat sun-like silver disc at its center. The disc has a turquoise-colored cabochon in its middle and a coral bead on either side. The top of the hoop is the tapered wire that fits into a loop for closure.  The bottom of the wire has silver beads and discs, as well as red and green glass beads, threaded onto it.  The nose ring is made of good-grade silver and dates from the late 19th or early twentieth century. It is generally in good condition, but there is a depression in one of the silver beads.

 A similar example can be seen in Jewellery from the Orient - Treasures from the Bir Collection, by Wolf-Dieter Seiwert p.192. Other examples are in Folk Art of Uzbekistan, Gafur Gulyam Literature and Art Publishing House, Tashkent, 1979, item 141.

The earring is 4.5 cm or 1 1/4" in length and 3 cm (1 1/8") across. It weighs 3.8 grams. Please note that the gauge of the wire is thicker than the western standard wire.

For more jewelry from Central Asia, please visit the Central Asia Collection.