A TURKOMAN SILVER AND CARNELIAN AMULET HOLDER, c. 1900sTurkmenistan, late 19th to early 20th century. The triangular-shaped pendant consists of three sections, the triangular top, a bozbend tube which opens to reveal a compartment for holding prayer scrolls, and a row of four floral shaped elements suspending chains ending in ball-shaped bells which produce a pleasant sound. All three silver elements are embellished with twenty table-cut carnelians. The top set with a leather strap applied with metal discs allowing it to be worn on the wearer's chest.Condition: Good condition with traces of use and wear. Provenance: Romy Rey Collection, London. Romy Rey (1938-2020) was born in Zurich, Switzerland, studied in Paris and Geneva, and settled in London in the 1960s. She shared her life with the artist Brian Davies (1942-2014), in London and in Southern France. Romy was an avid traveler and dedicated collector of tribal art. Her paintings often portrayed images of ancient or tribal objects in imaginary settings. Weight: 576 g Dimensions: Height 70 cm, width 22.5 cmLiterature comparison: For a closely related amulet holder of similar shape see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number: 2006.544.9.Turkoman jewelry is one of the most distinctive and easily recognizable styles of traditional jewelry. It was worn by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, in the present region of Turkmenistan and parts of northern Iran and Afghanistan.