Various Techniques of Kyrgyz Jewelers of the Last Century

Jewelry Masters of the Last Century

Masters of silver craftsmanship adorned horse harnesses, items of women's and men's costumes, as well as household items. Since the early 20th century, the production of silver items began to gradually decline, particularly from the time when the Kyrgyz stopped nomadic life.

The set of tools for jewelry production is approximately the same among all Kyrgyz. Recently, they have not changed, only supplemented by factory-made files and pliers. Silver was melted in small bowls (6-8 cm in diameter) called noo.

Jewelers in the south used various techniques for production and ornamentation. They employed forging, casting, silver plating, granulation, filigree, inlay, stamping, embossing, and engraving.

A widely used technique for silver plating in the south is the application of silver wire, which is flattened on an iron surface that is pre-coated with a rough grid-like texture.

The pattern in silver plating was created by leaving parts of the iron surface uncovered with silver. The technique of covering iron with a thin sheet of silver (silver paper) found in northern Kyrgyzstan was not observed among southern Kyrgyz. They plated iron overlays on all harness accessories and men's leather belts.

Among women's jewelry, only the toonyöch fibula was subjected to silver plating if its base was forged from iron.

According to informants, gilding was also practiced in the past. Women's jewelry on headgear — kalkan — was gilded. However, these items have not survived.

We did not encounter any ancient Kyrgyz items or silver jewelry made using the technique of blackening.

Evidently, the artistic finishing of silver items using this method was not adopted among southern Kyrgyz in the last century, in contrast to the northern ones.

Masters do not recall their fathers and grandfathers ever using blackening.

One of the common techniques for the artistic decoration of silver items is granulation.

Archaeological sources testify to its ancient presence in the territory of Kyrgyzstan: it was used as early as the 3rd century BC. Granulation is most often used to cover women's jewelry. It is observed less frequently on harness and only in the form of a small number of large grains framing a colored stone.

The granulation technique among southern Kyrgyz is somewhat different from that of the northern ones. The latter use a method of mixing finely crushed charcoal with pieces of silver. In the south, another method is commonly used: the master makes indentations on the surface of cold charcoal with the tip of a knife. In each indentation, he places a cut piece of thin silver wire. The charcoal is heated in a furnace, and the pieces of silver wire melt and turn into small balls, which the master collects with tweezers after cooling. Each silver ball is separately soldered onto the item, arranged in one or two rows, sometimes grouped in threes, fives, etc., depending on the intended pattern. The size of the balls varies. Smaller ones (1-1.5 mm in diameter) are used for rings and earrings, while larger ones (up to 2 mm in diameter) are used for bracelets. The described technique of making granulation is considered ancient by the masters.

Filigree is more often used in the production of earrings. The base is wire. The filigree is openwork but not of very fine workmanship. The openwork mesh is usually richly decorated with granulation.

A similar technique in the production of earrings is used by Uzbek masters. It is also widespread in Eastern Turkestan.

The filigree technique is used in the Alaï Valley, in the Naukatsky, Frunze, Batken, and Laylak districts. In the Soviet and northern parts of the Alaï district, this technique for making earrings was not employed by the masters. It is not noted among northern Kyrgyz, but it was known to Kazakhs.

Blacksmithing among the Kyrgyz in the early 20th century.