Author
Unknown
Publication Date
1850
Publication Place
Turkestan (made) -
Subject
Jewellery Metalwork
Type
Other
Language
Undetermined
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Physical Dimensions
Length: 14.5cm, Width: 10cm
Library
Victoria and Albert Museum
Library Asset ID
734&A-1900
Record ID
734&A-1900
Library Location
Middle East Section
Date
1850
Notes
Turkoman jewellery is one of the most distinctive and easily recognisable styles of traditional jewellery. It was worn by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, in the present region of Turkmenistan and parts of northern Iran and Afghanistan. Although individual pieces rarely date from any earlier than the 19th century, many of the designs and symbols used are much older, often pre-Islamic in origin. These lozenge-shaped breast ornaments, sparsely decorated with applied gallery wire and cornelians, were sewn to the garment in pairs, and often have a hook and eye so that they can be used to fasten the front opening. The name chanjuk (or gondshuk ) derives from a Turkic word meaning flat. They were acquired in Turkestan in 1884-5, during an Anglo-Russian conference to define the north-west frontier of Afghanistan, and were given to the Museum in 1900.
Malzemeler ve teknikler
Stamped silver set with cornelians Carnelian Silver Repoussé
Parçalar
Ornament, Ornament
Fiziksel açıklama
Pair of silver horizontal lozenge-shaped pendants set with cornelians. Each pendant is made from a plate of sheet silver with a strip of gallery wire soldered round the edge of the front to form a rim. There are three shuttle-shaped cornelians, each cut with a ridge across its centre, set in a row across the centre of the plate. There is a loop at the top of each plate for suspension and a ring at each side. There are nine loops hanging from the two lower sides, each of which holds a pendant consisting of a length of square-section loop-in-loop wire ending in a vertical lozenge of sheet silver stamped with a stylised flower.
