The Journey of Women

A Unique and Important Opportunity to View a Portion of the Ransom Collection of Yemeni Jewelry in the Midwest U.S.

Something amazing (at least in the jewelry world) is about to happen in the Midwest. A portion of the Ransom collection of Yemeni jewelry, which contains about 2,000 pieces in total, featuring works from the Middle East and artifacts from Bedouin and tribal people of Yemen, as well as examples of finely crafted urban jewelry, was gifted to Indiana University and some of it will soon be on display. If you are interested in seeing amazing silver jewelry, or are even slightly curious about what it is and/or why it’s important, I’m happy to share what I know about the exhibit and how to see it.

MARJORIE RANSOM AND THE RANSOM COLLECTION
In the mid-1960s David and Marjorie Ransom were assigned as diplomats to the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. They were the first Arabic-speaking couple in the U.S. Foreign Service. During their assignment they traveled across the entire country of Yemen, visiting every region. This gave Marjorie an opportunity to learn a great deal about Yemen’s rich cultural heritage. She made friends with people of all kinds, was able to see and collect amazing silver jewelry, clothing and other cultural artifacts, to gain knowledge of how these pieces were worn, and learn what significance they held for the wearer, directly from women themselves. Not only did she talk to and even interview women across Yemen, she also talked to the silversmiths and their families and researched their jewelry making methods.

What she collected during this time became the Ransom Collection of Yemeni Jewelry and what she learned ultimately resulted a book titled Silver Treasures from the Land of Sheba: Regional Yemeni Jewelry, covering silver jewelry and clothing pieces from each of the regions of Yemen she visited and learned so much about. First published in 2014, it contains information on styles of silver jewelry and how they vary across each region of Yemen, about how those pieces changed over time, where and when different types of jewelry were worn and by whom, and about jewelry making techniques that are no longer used today. If you are interested, this excellent resource can be purchased from a couple of places listed on her website HERE, from AUC PRESS, or from other booksellers around the world.

You can learn more about Marjorie Ransom HERE on her web site.

THE EXHIBIT - WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, HOW AND EVEN WHY
The University of Indiana (Bloomington) has been gifted 400 pieces from the Ransom Collection which they are planning to exhibit in their newest museum space. You can read a bit more about the collection and gift HERE on Marjorie Ransom’s web page. The exhibition will open in the fall of this year.

WHAT Is It?
The Journey of Women: Yemeni Jewelry and Social Growth exhibition will showcase about 50 of the 400 Ransom Collection pieces gifted to the University. Pieces will include jewelry and textiles. (Textile items will rotate out on a six-month schedule due to concerns of light exposure.) You can read the official University exhibit page HERE and Marjorie Ransom’s web page about the exhibit is HERE.

WHERE Will It Be Shown?
The exhibit will be shown in the Hall Gallery of the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana.
416 N. Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47408
812.855.6873
See the Museum Contact Page for further information

WHEN / HOW Can I See It?
The exhibit will open on Saturday, October 25, 2025 and will run through an unspecified date in 2027. I spoke with a curator who did indicate that it will probably stay open until the summer of 2027, but this is an approximation since it is so far ahead of time. The exhibit will be open during regular Museum hours and days:
Tuesday to Friday 10 am - 5:30 pm
Saturday 12 noon - 5:30 pm
The Museum is closed Sunday and Monday.
There is no admission fee for the Museum or for exhibit entry.

MORE Information
On Saturday, October 25 Marjorie Ransom will be at the Museum in person and will give at least one tour of the collection herself. Her web page (which shows the date incorrectly as Saturday, October 26) indicates she will be at the Museum between 1 pm and 4 pm on opening day.

WHY This Exhibit and Marjorie Ransom’s Book Are So Important
The book and exhibit are important for a number of reasons.  First because as a woman, Marjorie Ransom had access to women's spaces and voices in a closed society. Second, as a diplomat, she had the opportunity to travel the entire country, visiting each individual region. Third she was actively researching and collecting at a time when old traditions were about to be replaced with more modern ideas, preserving the pieces and knowledge that were about to become history. Additionally, many of the old techniques used to make silver jewelry pieces are no longer practiced and this is a opportunity to see for yourself items that are no longer being made or worn and the results of techniques no longer used. The jewelry and textile pieces she collected are a part of a by-gone era and the knowledge she has accumulated and committed to writing are an important part of recording vanishing Yemeni cultural heritage.

If you have an interest in silver jewelry, Yemeni culture, or history, you should try to see this exhibit. It is a rare and unique opportunity to view, in person, pieces that are today seen only in books. This exhibit really will be something extraordinary. Its cultural and historical significance cannot be overstated.


ABOUT TRIP PLANNING TO BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA
For those in the Midwest, visiting should be an easy weekend trip. If you live further away, you have plenty of time to plan a trip to Indiana before the exhibit closes. I do live in St. Louis, Missouri so I may not be the most expert person on travel to Bloomington, but I have been there at least half a dozen times and have always found it to be welcoming. Since it is a university town, there are lots of restaurants and hotels in the area. It’s probably best to drive there if you can, but you could also fly to Indianapolis and rent a car. Bloomington is about an hour’s drive SSW of Indianapolis. You can find more about the town HERE on their official tourism page.