Berber Necklace – IDA OU NADIF – Anti-Atlas Mountains, Morocco

12 metal rings, red glass. Leather. Each ring (early to mid 20th century) is approx. cm. 2,5 high x cm. 2,5 width (0.98″ x 0.98″) . The nacklace is cm. 33,0 long (12.99 Inches); gr. 151,3 (5.33 oz.). The necklace has been reassembled in the 1970s. Berbers are the indigenous ethnic group of North Africa. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. The name Berber appeared for the first time after the end of the Roman Empire. Many Berbers call themselves some variant of the word imazighen (singular: Amazigh), possibly meaning “free people” or “free and noble men”. Today, most Berber-speaking people live in Morocco and Algeria.