Ornament

This small ornament has a pin on the verso that suggests that it would originally have been worn fastened to a piece of clothing or a cloth headdress. Two decorative silver coins are attached to the pin. They have been stamped in emulation of eighteenth-century Ottoman currency and specifically modeled on coinage used in the year A.H. 1203 (A.D. 1797) during the reign of Sultan Selim III. The use of coins and decorative coins in jewelry is an ancient practice across the Islamic world. This particular usage of coins references the way in which jewelry served as a form of portable wealth for the women who owned such pieces and could be sold if needed. These coins were probably copied from discontinued currency that was available in Tunisia during and after the Ottoman presence in North Africa.