Jewelry: an indicator of social change within Emirati society

By Marie-Claire Bakker and Kara McKeown

While the forms of jewelry have changed, how have the functions of jewelry within Emirati society evolved? Through photographs and oral histories, drawing on longitudinal research conducted in the Arabian Gulf in the early 1990s and from 2016–2019 this project has documented the evolving social role of jewelry in the life of the Arab Woman. Jewelry, its role and meaning, as well as its form and material, varies across the generations. A further set of variables may be detected across the social and economic spectrum; and a further set varies regionally and tribally. This project has documented these fast disappearing forms of Emirati heritage while also seeking to use the changing dynamic between maker, object and user over time to analyze the rapid and continuing economic and social change that is ongoing in the region. Despite the rapid social and economic development, Jewelry continues to be an integral part of a women’s private and public identity. For a woman, jewelry is not only adornment; it is currency, independence and insurance. From cradle to grave, the gifting of jewelry marks every important event in a woman’s life. It may represent a treasured relationship with a family member or friend, that both creates and reinforces an intricate web of social relationships, but this contrasts with an equally important practical function as a source of wealth. While more modern forms of insurance policies have augmented the keeping of  jewelry, there is still a strong psychological need for a woman to maintain a reserve of gold.  A woman’s jewelry remains an investment that is directly within her control; to cash in, trade, or rework, as she chooses. Through photographic documentation and oral history interviews, the forms, uses, techniques and patterns have been documented and classified and origins and possible distinct regional styles have been identified. 

Photos

Researcher Bio

Marie-Claire Bakker holds an MA in Arabic from the University of Edinburgh UK, and an MPhil in Ethnology and Museum Ethnography from the University of Oxford, UK. Her cross-disciplinary research includes the documentation of social change using material culture of the Arabian Gulf; student engagement and culturally embedded pedagogy in creative sector higher education in the UAE and wider Gulf region, and how digital humanities tools and global sustainability goals can be integrated in the design curriculum. Marie-Claire is Assistant Dean of Student Affairs, College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi and teaches material culture, art history and curatorial subjects.

Kara McKeown holds a BA in the History of Art from the University of Sussex UK, an MA in Museum Studies from University of Leicester, UK.  She teaches Art History and Curatorial Practices courses in the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises at Zayed University, Dubai. Her research interests include the interface between language teaching pedagogy and the teaching of art and design; cultural influences on motivational issues in students and their goals for studying at university, the collection and use of oral history in museums in the UAE and Jewelry as an indicator of change in the Arabian Gulf.

Research Assistant

Ayesha Almarar born in Abu Dhabi, comes from a strong traditional family rooted from Al Dafrah, Western Region. She graduated in Fall 2019 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) majoring in interior design from the College of Arts and Creative Enterprises (CACE), Zayed University, Abu Dhabi. Miss Almarar is a young, ambitious designer with an ardent interest in melding traditional cultural styles into contemporary design. As the primary research assistant on this project she has worked on interviews, translations, documentation and film, documenting and photographing her family’s traditional jewellery.