Description

An impressive Tuareg veil weight (assaru oun assouli) from the Hoggar Mountains of southern Algeria.

Attached to the lower edge of the tagelmust (veil), these weights helped secure the cloth during travel, particularly in the strong desert winds and sandstorms of the Sahara.

This finely crafted example is decorated with engraved brass, yellow copper and red copper elements applied to a tinned metal body.
Silver ornaments embellish the lower section as well as the original leather suspension strap.
The geometric decoration is characteristic of Tuareg metalwork from the Hoggar region.

Among the Tuareg, copper has long been valued not only for its beauty but also for the protective qualities traditionally attributed to the metal.

Dimensions

Length: 38 cm

Width: 7.5 cm

Weight: 228 g

References

ABZIM – Parures et bijoux des femmes d’Algérie, Wassyla Tamzali – Dessain et Tolra, Paris (1984), p. 105

Art of Being Tuareg, edited by Thomas K. Seligman and Kristyne Loughran, University of California Museum (2006), p. 175

Bijoux touaregs, Jean Burner – Éditions du Fournel (2011), pp. 212–213

Photo of Tuareg woman-photographer unknown.