A fascinating Pashtun torque necklace made in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. The Pashtun live in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Two thick wires are wound and come together at the ends. The result is quite a springy neck ring that is quite flexible. This torque necklace is decorated on either side with blue beads in raised bezels placed on flower shaped plaques. The finials are made of a single piece of metal that tapers and is bent back at the end. To put on this necklace, you move the two bent ends away from each other widening the gap and fitting your neck in.
You can see a similar necklace in Wolf-Dieter Seiwert's book: Jewellery from the Orient: Treasures from the Bir Collection. Seiwert states that this type of necklace in pre Islamic times were worn by "men of quite high rank and their wives and children."
Inner circumference is 51 (20") including the gap which is presently 6 cm (2 3/8") that can be expanded to at least double that.
