In jewellery, a collar is an ornament for the neck and is usually reserved nowadays for a necklace that lies flat to the body rather than hanging freely. Such a collar usually rests directly above the collar bone. Both men (Fig. 5) and women (Figs. 3, 4 & 6) can wear such collars as part of their traditional costume.
A special form of jewellery collar is the choker, a piece of jewellery or ornamental fabric, worn tight to the throat (Figs. 1 & 2).
Figure 1: Germany: This woman from somewhere in Southern Germany is wearing a black velvet choker, called in this region a goitre band [Kropfband]. It has a single white pearl in the middle. [Halo hat (II), Upper Swabia (?), Bavaria & Baden-Württemberg]
The Kropfband was originally used to hide the swelling of the enlarged thyroid gland associated with goitre in the area called Salzburger Land in Austria. Goitre was a common ailment in this region until the introduction of iodinated salt, because the mountainous land was and is poor in iodine. The broad and close-fitting style of choker caught on and became part of the traditional costumes of Austria and Southern Germany (Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg) in the 19th century.
Figure 2: Germany: This young woman is wearing a choker made of gold braid. This most probably represents a goitre band [Kropfband] (see Fig. 1). [Bollenhut (II), Schwarzwald]
Figure 3: Latvia: This costume from the 7th – 13th century includes two bronze chokers and a sort of bronze collar or breastplate with four stiff bronze chains over it. [Unmarried woman in Ancient Latvian dress (I)]Figure 4: Netherlands: Instead of the traditional red material high-necked stand collar worn by the other doll from Volendamm (I), this doll has a short collar-like necklace (Edelkraal) around her neck. The beads are a reddish yellow apart from a single silver metallic one in the front, representing the typical ornamental metal buckle of the Edelkraal. [Volendamm (II)]Figure 5: Sri Lanka: Around the neck of this almost 60-year-old Devil Dancer is a bead collar made up of two rows of round orange beads (coral?) with a zigzag arrangement of green beads between them. Looped around the lower row of orange beads is a row of rectangular white beads (ivory?). (Kandyan devil dancer)
Figure 6: Thailand: Many of the women from the Hill Tribes (Hmong, Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Lu Mien in my collection) wear silver collars as part of their jewellery. This Blue Hmong woman has on a solid silver collar with an opening at the back as part of her xauv, a jewellery ensemble which also consists of many other elements (chains and brooches). (Blue Hmong)
National costume dolls 