Malleability

One of metal's most valuable properties is its malleability, which allows metal to be bent, hammered, stamped, cut, or melted and reformed.  Several of these techniques were employed in this Egyptian piece, including extruding and bending wire, stamping coins, and cutting decorations.

This necklace consists of 20 coins, each of which is inscribed with Arabic writing and is more than likely from Egypt.  These coins are called ‘Para’ and are all dated in Arabic, some are dated to the year 1277 on the Arabic calander (1861 AD) in the fourth year of the reign of Abdul Aziz, and this means the date the coin was actually issued would be 1865 AD.

(Curated by Raechel Chevalley)