Old Large Berber Cross – BOGHDAD – Mauritania – Rare Item

Engraved silver on ebony wood (gr. 58,7 – 2.07 oz.). Size: cm. 8,7 x 6,5 (3.43″ x 2.56″). Fine work.

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.

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