MSI621

CAMBODIA – KHMER SILVER COIL EARRING FROM THE KIRI VONG (KIRIWONG) REGION, TAKEO PROVINCE.
PROBABLE LATE 19TH TO EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

THIS TRADITIONAL KHMER SILVER COIL EARRING REPRESENTS A CLASSIC FORM OF RURAL CAMBODIAN BODY ADORNMENT, ASSOCIATED WITH EVERYDAY WEAR AND CULTURAL IDENTITY RATHER THAN CEREMONIAL ELITE JEWELRY. THE SIMPLE YET PURPOSEFUL COILED DESIGN WAS COMMONLY USED BY KHMER COMMUNITIES IN SOUTHERN CAMBODIA, PARTICULARLY IN THE KIRI VONG AREA NEAR THE VIETNAM BORDER, WHERE LOCAL SILVERSMITHING AND PERSONAL ORNAMENTATION WERE PART OF DAILY LIFE.

THE EARRING IS MOST LIKELY CRAFTED FROM HIGH-SILVER CONTENT ALLOY, CONSISTENT WITH TRADITIONAL KHMER SILVERWORK OF THE PERIOD. MATERIAL HAS NOT BEEN SCIENTIFICALLY TESTED, HOWEVER WEIGHT, COLOR, OXIDATION, AND WEAR ARE ALL CONSISTENT WITH PERIOD SILVER. THE COIL FORM ALLOWED EASY INSERTION INTO STRETCHED EARLOBES WHILE PROVIDING SECURE, BALANCED WEAR.

MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROXIMATELY 14 MM IN LENGTH AND 25 MM IN WIDTH, WITH AN EARLOBE HOLE DIAMETER OF APPROXIMATELY 4 MM. TOTAL WEIGHT IS 5.39 GRAMS. CONDITION IS VERY GOOD FOR ITS AGE: FULLY INTACT, STRUCTURALLY SOUND, AND WELL PRESERVED, WITH NATURAL SURFACE WEAR COMMENSURATE WITH AUTHENTIC USE. SUITABLE FOR COLLECTORS, ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY, OR DISPLAY.

THIS IS A GENUINE COLLECTIBLE EXAMPLE OF KHMER PERSONAL ADORNMENT FROM SOUTHERN CAMBODIA, INCREASINGLY SCARCE DUE TO MODERNIZATION AND THE DISAPPEARANCE OF TRADITIONAL WEARING PRACTICES.

SOLD AS A SINGLE PIECE.