.25"ø
Silver
ROMANIA

There is an annual market in Romania called Negreni. Everyone knows it, it is widely hated and loved. It's huge, selling massive amounts of used everything - for example, clothing, shoes, fur coats, vintage objects, crafts and shockingly large amounts of meat of all kinds. I first saw a version of these earrings when we were in a Roma village of families that make brass and copper objects. We visited one household, drank coffee and then had a long talk about life in general. Driving out of town we were gawking at the many half-finished palaces the Roma call home. Often not lived in, nor ever finished, these are gigantic structures with amazing tin and copper work on the roofs are mind-blowing and that is the idea. Staring up in awe, I asked our Romanian friend to stop the car. Immediately a man set upon us and two girls as well. The kids were friendly, the man suggested we give her some money. The girl had the most beautiful gold version of these earrings, the man had amazing gold teeth. Amazing, I mean it. I asked our friend to ask about the both, but he drove off terrified (the relations between the Roma and the rest of the population are generally horrible). We went back through town and upon asking about the earrings, I was told they were certainly inherited. Back to Negreni and a day of combing through all the imaginable and unimaginable, I found a small pile of these earrings and a number of handmade bangles that were for certain Roma-made. I was told they came from the workshop of a Roma man who passed away. Whether that is true or not I will never know but I think it's even better to leave it to the imagination and let it run wild. There is something about Romania, it encourages - almost nurtures - those wild runs.