A token of affection

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A token of affection

Posted by Thelma on February 14, 2017 at 12:28pm

Found in Khiva, these long tubular temple ornaments, made of silver that has been gilded and stamped with a floral pattern at the centre, are set with tiny oval sky-blue turquoise stones. Beneath the stones are finely wrought pendant chains of coral and silver gilt leaves which tremble at the slightest movement. Length: 15.5cm. Nineteenth century.

Comments

Thelma February 14, 2017 at 12:42pm

Here is a picture of a similar pair of ornaments from the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent. Originally, they would have been given by a young man to the girl he was going to marry as a token of his affection. And she would have worn them with a lock of her hair attached to the bottom of each one. The picture is from a book called The Folk Art of Uzbekistan, published in Uzbekistan in 1979
howah February 14, 2017 at 4:42pm

Love these!
Thelma February 14, 2017 at 8:16pm

Dear Howah, Thanks for this. When I got these, some time ago, they were sewn onto and wrapped in an old piece of material. I think that's what has kept them in a relatively good condition. Most of the others I have seen have lost their coral beads and the little silver gilt leaves which are very delicate and detach themselves very easily.
Peter Hoesli February 15, 2017 at 12:26am

Dear Thelma; These are gorgeous and so well kept! Congratulations! Peter
howah February 15, 2017 at 12:39am

Yes these are very well preserved. There was a pair for sale recently, but it was in very bad shape. Otherwise I would have purchased them. At least I have the triangular shaped amulet that is shown on the scan of the book.
Thelma February 15, 2017 at 11:55am

Thanks Peter. Yes, they have survived remarkably well. But even when I picked them up for the first time, a small gilded leaf fell off - you can probably hear a low moan of distress. I think it must have been loose already. And even though I have the leaf it will be very difficult to put it back because of the way the tiny pendants are constructed. I suspect this is one of the reasons why we see so many of these pieces without a full set of decorations.
Thelma February 15, 2017 at 1:01pm

Interesting that there was another pair on sale recently, Howah. I've only seen them as components of more recently designed jewellery. I'll attach a photo of a necklace where they have been used as part of the design. It can be found at www.karlssonandwickman.com/ethnic-jewelry/
Toya February 15, 2017 at 4:02pm

The subtle gold with the turquoise and coral is divine! Great find!
Betty February 15, 2017 at 8:05pm

What an amazing find, Thelma. My congratulations. Great picture and info as usual...
Thelma February 16, 2017 at 12:16pm

Thanks Betty and Toya. When I first bought these I was asked to remember that, although these were named 'naicha' in other parts of Uzbekistan, they were called 'sagc tuyme' or 'sagc tutoykon' in Khiva. Most of those I have seen on display seem to have been labelled 'naicha' so maybe that is their common name. Does anyone know more?

Photos

A token of affection

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