Silver & Carnelian Turkman Headpiece - Tekaki3

Gorgeous vintage diadem, known as a Tekaki, from the nomadic Turkman peoples of Central Asia.  Originally, this piece would have hung from the elaborate headpieces worn by young women in Turkmenistan region (today's Central Asia and Iran).  These days, these gorgeous pieces are usually used as pendants or incorporated into other jewelry. 

This pendant is vintage silver metal (likely a mix of silver and non-silver) and very nice carnelian stones.  It measures 13 inches long and 1.5 inches wide.  There is one larger flower motif at the top, and three smaller pendants below, all joined together with a series of smaller links.  It weighs 55.7 grams.   

The piece is in excellent condition, with beautiful carnelian stones.  Carnelian stones were believed to protect the wearer from illness and death and the stones on this piece appear original and in very good condition.   

Note that this piece has a loop at one end (very easy to incorporate into jewelry) and a shark hook at the other end that would have connected to the wearer's clothing.  So a slightly more creative approach to incorporating it into your own jewelry creations may be necessary, or simply use it as an adornment.       

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York has an excellent history of the Turkman peoples and the role of jewelry in the culture of these Central Asian nomads:

Although nominally Sunni Muslim, the Turkmen kept many of their pre-Islamic customs and beliefs, which were often embodied in the jewelry they made and wore. Turkmen silver jewelry carried deep symbolic meanings and often marked an individual’s passage from one stage of life to another. From a very early age, a woman started wearing jewelry whose shapes and materials were believed to ensure her ability to bear healthy children later in life. The amount of embellishments a girl wore increased as she approached marriageable age. Once she had had her first children, and her fertility had been established, the amount of jewelry she received and wore decreased. In addition, silver jewelry believed to ward off evil and illness was worn by men, women, and especially by children.

Jewelry was a significant financial investment, as it was handcrafted from precious materials. There were cases when, in times of dire need, a woman would part with her jewelry in order to help the survival of the tribe. Significant in size and weight, Turkmen jewelry objects were made of silver, decorated with semi-precious stones, and sometimes gilded for an added color effect and value.

The Met explains that "Pieces of carnelian, a bright red colored stone, are popular because they are believed to protect the wearers from illness and death."