#Libyas #traditional #jewelry #hangs #silver #thread
In Tripoli’s old city, young Libyans weave delicate patterns with silver and gold threads to create traditional filigree jewelry – reviving an art nearly lost through decades of dictatorship and war.
Abdelmajid Zeglam is only 12 years old, but his meticulously detailed creations are already selling fast in the streets surrounding a Roman-era archway dedicated to Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
“I was hesitant at first for fear of failure because I’m young, but my mother encouraged me,” Zeglam said.
He is the youngest of around 20 students, about half of them women, studying at the Libyan Academy of Traditional Gold and Silver Crafts, in a building that once served as the French Consulate to the Ottoman Empire.
Trainees learn about precious metal alloys before delving into the art of filigree, in which beads and threads of precious materials are woven into intricate patterns and then soldered together to create jewellery.
“I love it,” said Zeglam. “I want to be a petroleum engineer in the mornings and a jeweler in the afternoons.”
Mohamed al-Miloudi, a 22-year-old civil engineering student wearing a baseball cap, said he has not missed a class since registering in September.
“It’s a hobby, but I want to make it my career,” he said.
The institute’s founder, Abdelnasser Aboughress, said filigree jewelery is an old tradition in the North African country.
“Craftsmen in the Medina of Tripoli were trained by Jewish masters and later by Arabs at the prestigious School of Arts and Crafts,” which was founded in the late 19th century, he said.
– Secret Jewelers –
But generations of traditions were abruptly ended after Muamer Gaddafi took power in a 1969 coup.
The capricious ruler overturned the constitution and established his “Jamahiriya” – a mixture of socialism, Arab nationalism and tribal patronage.
He also scrapped the private sector, confiscating companies and confiscating their assets.
Self-employed craftsmen lost everything overnight: their workshops, their livelihood and their students.
“The state has crushed Libyan crafts and forced a generation of young apprentices who should have taken the baton to instead abandon traditional crafts and join the army” or become civil servants, Aboughress said.
The 55-year-old was born just a few streets away in the medina and took up the trade at the age of 15, despite Gaddafi’s ban.
For decades, he and his father worked in secret on jewelry for trusted clients.
Now he hopes to pass the craft on to younger generations and buck a tide of “low-quality jewelry imported from Egypt and China (which) has flooded the market.”
Aboughress is working on a project to document and preserve as much of this cultural heritage as possible.
– ‘People with passion’ –
Student Fatima Boussoua slammed the practice of selling old Libyan silver jewelry for export at bargain prices, and was then melted down.
“It’s part of Libya’s artisan heritage that’s disappearing!” She said.
Boussoua, a dentist in her 40s who also teaches at the University of Tripoli, has been training at the center for the past year in hopes of mastering the craft.
“We should educate artists to preserve our heritage,” she said. “All it takes are people with passion.”
It takes years of training to become a true expert, but Aboughress’ students are already producing works that are sold online or at the center itself.
However, he concedes that the project needs financial help to buy the expensive raw materials – and “moral support”.
He hopes that with enough resources, one day he will be able to set up a number of other workshops across Libya.
“It’s time to bring this craft back to life,” he said.
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#Libyas #traditional #jewelry #hangs #silver #thread
