Photos

Comments

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  Lynn Ardent May 24, 2015 at 4:19pm

  Wonderful silky patina and geometric design.  Congratulations!  What is the back of the cuff like? 

  I can't help with dating, but Linda has several old Kazakh pieces on this pinterest board. 

  https://www.pinterest.com/bijouxhunter/pastorino-collection-jewelry...
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  Thelma May 24, 2015 at 8:04pm

  Yes, beautifully done, Preethi. There is a picture of one almost the same as this on page 225 in Wolf-Dieter Seiwert's book Jewellery from the Orient: Treasures from the Bir Collection. I would love to know more about judging age. What I do know is that the Kazakhs have used false granulation at least since the end of the nineteenth century unlike neighbouring groups. Janata describes the flight of large numbers from Kazakhstan to Afghanistan after the October Revolution; and then the disastrous winter of 1975 when these refugees were forced to sell their jewellery to survive. The sale of these pieces was such a success that Afghan jewellers commissioned copies and the copies were so precise that even mistakes in the originals were copied. So it may be difficult to judge whether a piece is older and original or whether it is a very expert copy.... except by examining the wear on the silver etc.
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  Peter Hoesli May 25, 2015 at 9:12am

  A true beauty, Preethi - Congratulations on this fantastic purchase! Peter
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  Sami Yousef May 25, 2015 at 9:26am

  This is so elegant and fine Preethi, very wearable! I like it very much, Br, Sami
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  Preethi May 25, 2015 at 10:22am

  Thanks everyone.

  Thelma, thank you for the reference. That's a book on my wishlist. Interesting and a sad fact about how Kazakh jewellery started to be sold, but their continued popularity demonstrates the timelessness of Kazakh designs. I suppose this is one instance where one would have to handle a substantial number of pieces to begin to understand age.

  Lynn, here's an image of one side of the cuff. I haven't photographed the back, but it's an open cuff.

  
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  Joost Daalder May 25, 2015 at 11:42pm

  I thought there was another photo as well? Cannot now find it, though I commented on it (I thought!), referring to Linda's Kazakhi pieces. But I would strongly support Thelma's comment, including her praise of both the Seiwert book on the Bir collection and the Janata book: both are very good. My own impression is that this is a fairly early example of a Kazakhi piece with false granulation - that is, technically and historically it looks fairly "late", but it does have considerable evidence of wear and patina. So could it be e.g. 1930s? Even if only one wearer wears a silver cuff for just 30 or 40 years it often comes to look as though it is much older than it is. But I do not imply that this dates back to e.g. the 70s. I would have thought its soft sheen suggests an earlier date. However, a piece like this is not actually easy to date ... It is very nice, in any case, and certainly was worn. An attractive object.
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  Joost Daalder May 26, 2015 at 6:29am

  Ah, I have just seen the other photos again - on Facebook. Thanks for your posts in both  places, Preethi.
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  Preethi May 26, 2015 at 10:10am

  Thanks very much for your thoughts on the bracelet, Joost. Yes, I did post images on the FB page hoping to increase feedback.

  I have also seen Linda's pinterest page and photos on this forum. She does have an incredible collection. However, I would like to understand if there are ways other than an evaluation of wear to data Kazakh pieces. For one thing, I wonder if the large rings were worn regularly enough to develop wear and patina. Which would then make it difficult to estimate its age.

  Does any one have images of Kazakh jewellery that uses true granulation? Those would most likely be from the 1800's, based on the information from Thelma.