Vintage Silver Egyptian Arousa Veil Accessory

This curious item is a hard to find veil accessory from the late early 20th century in Egypt.  It is called Arousa al Burka or arousat al burqa.  It is made of a silver cylinder which has three thin serrated disks fused at right angles around it. It has a silver wire wound all around it. This arousa is made of 90% pure silver. It has the three-part silver hallmark of Egypt. The arousa is in reasonable condition for its age, with its original cardboard inner tube.  Please note however that it is somewhat bent.

The arousa is part of what urban women wore to cover their face.  The arousa was worn over the nose making a space between the headband and the veil for the eyes on either side. The veil itself was often see through or net-like. You can see how this would have looked from this antique tinted photo post card: 

"Egypt - Young Arab Girl" Postcard ca. the early 1900s

The arousa (in Arabic meaning bride), once ubiquitous is now hard to find. It's an interesting item for a costume or jewelry collector.

• Length of the cylinder is 3.2 cm (1 1/4").
• The diameter of the cylinder is 1 cm (3/8").
• The outer discs protrude 4 mm from the cylinder.
• Weight 4 g