The ‘Jewelled Tales of Libya’ will showcase Libya’s antique silver jewellery and explore the diversity and historical identity of the country through its fine pieces. Bringing the rich cultural heritage to the wider public, it aims to shed light on the story behind the jewellery and the symbols that feature heavily throughout the geographical expanse that we know as Libya.
A parallel aspect will be the vintage photography of Libyan women that are also from a historically valuable private collection. Dating back to the early decades of the 20t h century, many of the images were taken by the Italian cameramen who had established studios in Libya during the European colonisation. We can name Aula, Nascia and Rimoldi and others who all contributed to the Orientalist strand of photography.
The exhibition will also include pictures by the Libyan photographer Sassi Harib, whose work captures the essence of Libya’s southern women as they are adorned in their jewellery.