This is a handcrafted ethnic silver antique hollow bead which was collected from Yemen. This ethnic silver bead specimen is in great condition but exhibits wear from tribal use including a few dents. This amazing antique Yemen bead measures 26.40mm long and 22.10mm wide. In Yemen for centuries most of the tribally worn silver jewelry was made by Jewish metalsmiths living in the country. These very talented silversmiths used a combination of geometric shapes, filigree work and granulation techniques to create a wide variety of amulets, bracelets, necklaces, chokers and rings. Very often they recycled silver coins and silver jewelry by melting them down to acquire the silver they worked with. Some of these Yemeni pieces have signatures of Hebrew names written in Arabic script. Commonly these makers marks or hallmarks can be found either stamped or engraved with the jeweler's signature on small oval or round spots of silver added after the piece was finished. When the nation of Israel was formed in 1948 almost all of the Jewish jewelers living in Yemen left to emigrate to Israel. These antique silver Yemen beads are very hard to find now. Perfect for adding to your Antique Yemen bead collection, African trade bead collection or for jewelry applications. I combine shipping on multiple orders so please check out my my eBay store Mountainamma's Marketplace where I have thousands of items to browse through. For buyers of multiple items please message me before buying so I can help you combine your shipping or use the request total link.