Jewelry in portraits
Finding accurate portraits of Bedouin and traditional jewelry being worn is difficult. Most old photographs and postcards were made in a time when photographing and printing was expensive. Therefore, much care was taken to produce pictures and postcards that reflected the magic of the Orient as the receivers would like to see it.
An example of orientalist portraits, with an unnecessary and unrealistic display of nudity. The clothespins are attached wrongly and obviously have no function
Orientalist photographs are generally studio portraits of women, dressed as all the exotic dreams of the seductive Orient prescribed. A large amount of nudity is shown that in real life never would occur. Jewelry is seen draped where it does not belong or mixed with jewelry items from a different region altogether.
In the following pages, a collection of more or less reliable pictures is shown to provide some example on how jewelry was worn.
Use the menu above to navigate through the site or click on the links below to see the portraits: