The world of jewelry is endless and has been an integral part of human life since ancient times. In every culture, every ethnic group has its own everyday and sacred jewelry. They served as amulets, talismans, symbols of wealth and power. The first jewelry was created from berry and fruit seeds, leather, wood, stone, and later from metals and precious stones.
Each new generation rethinks the symbols and meanings of jewelry and the ways of creating it. Today's well-known jewelry companies and independent craftsmen are turning to the forms and symbols inherent in the jewelry of the past. They adapt them to the preferences of the present and unconsciously pass on the traditions to future generations.
We will look into the history of women's jewelry in Ukraine, find out at what age girls started wearing jewelry, and whether the material and color of the item mattered. We will also try to find symbols of antiquity in our modern jewelry boxes.
Mysterious patterns of Trypillians and steppe nomads
Among the Trypillia heritage, archaeologists find many clay female figures richly decorated with ornaments. They are called maidens, babas, or "Trypillian Madonna". For Trypillians, a woman was the embodiment of Mother Nature, who gives new life and magically interacts with the world around her. The symbols on the "madonnas" and jewelry (bracelets, pendants) reflected the elements: sky, earth, water, and fire. Clay female figures "tell" us that the clothes of Trypillian women were also richly decorated with sacred symbols. Today, not only Ukrainian but also international designers and jewelers use Trypillian ornaments in their collections.
In the 8th and 7th centuries BC, the steppe and forest-steppe parts of Ukraine were inhabited by Cimmerian tribes. Very few jewelry pieces from that era have survived to this day. They were mostly made of metal using various methods, such as casting, forging, soldering, carving, and embossing. Sometimes the items were inlaid with glass details. Accessories were characterized by clear, laconic forms. The images on them are also dominated by geometric shapes - rhombuses, squares, straight and spiral lines.
At the beginning of the 7th century BC, nomadic tribes, the Scythians, settled the Black Sea and steppe regions of Ukraine. They were the real ambassadors of gold at that time. They used it to make jewelry, weapons, and household items. For them, the shiny metal embodied courage, good health, wealth, and immortality. The Scythians tried to cover their bodies with gold as much as possible to gain their strength and protection - earrings, rings, tiaras, pendants, bracelets, breastplates with patterns. The jewelry was quite rough, large, and strong. In order to make products made of soft gold metal stronger, copper was added to it.
Among the Scythian tribes, the vast majority were nomads; there were few farmers and cattle breeders. This had its influence on the jewelry, where animal ornaments prevailed. There was also a division into men's and women's accessories. Men's accessories featured a motif of strength and courage, with predatory animals and birds depicted in dynamics, emphasizing their power, beauty, and grace. In addition to animals, horsemen and foot soldiers with weapons were depicted. Women's jewelry was characterized by floral and household motifs, as well as totem animals as amulets.
At the end of the 7th century BC, Greek city-states appeared in the Northern Black Sea region. Diplomatic and trade relations between them and the nomadic Scythians began. It was during this period that animal ornaments of jewelry became more sophisticated. The world-famous golden Scythian pectoral, which belonged to one of the leaders, is a product of Greek craftsmen. The most popular are three versions of its plot: a model of the universe with a three-tiered structure, a map of the Scythian leader's possessions, and a pagan nomadic calendar, where each month had its own patron animal totem.
Gradually, the Scythians were replaced by new nomads, the Sarmatians. They used not only gold but also copper, silver, and iron to make their jewelry. Gold prevailed among the Sarmatian nobility, military commanders, and leaders, while other members of the community wore cheaper materials. Zoomorphic ornamentation was also the main feature of Sarmatian jewelry. Like the Greeks, they used a lot of precious stones, colored glass, and enamel in their rings, earrings, and bracelets. Later, realistic zoomorphic motifs combined with stones turned into graphic ornaments.
In addition to metal products, archaeologists have found all kinds of pendants made of glass and stone beads throughout the Northern Black Sea region from the time of the Cimmerians to Greek settlements.
Since the 90s of the 20th century, the symbolism of the Scythians and Sarmatians has been experiencing its second wave of popularity. Many craftsmen have emerged to revive the ancient symbols and sacred ornaments of our ancestors. A search on the Internet will reveal items made of both precious and common metals.
The princely era
Women's jewelry from the times of Kievan Rus, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and Galicia-Volhynia was very diverse, and its form and methods of production differed depending on the influence of neighboring states and historical periods. The oldest were metal products, and starting in the 4th century AD, silver and gold jewelry became popular. They were primarily used as talismans and amulets. The ornaments depicted symbols of nature, elements, and patron gods. Later, Christian symbolism in jewelry gained popularity.
Before the invention of buttons, clothes were held together with the help of fasteners. In addition to their practical function, they also served as decoration. Wealthy people wore gold and silver fibulae with engraved ornaments or decorated with precious stones. Nowadays, these clasps have been transformed into brooches.
Back then, jewelry could tell a lot about the status and wealth of its owner. Peasant women wore iron and copper jewelry, bourgeois women wore pewter, merchants' wives and daughters wore silver, and only the wealthiest could afford gold. It is possible that a peasant woman could wear silver earrings and a bourgeois woman gold, but this was probably her only expensive jewelry. In the times of Kievan Rus, temple earrings were popular among women and girls. These were tin, silver, or gold rings (of various shapes and sizes) that were attached to a ribbon or strap that was tied around the head. They could also be attached to a headdress or hair.
Classical earrings were also quite common; they were meant not only to emphasize the beauty of their owner, but also to protect her from the evil eye and disease. A girl's ears were pierced from the age of two and she wore copper earrings. When she became a teenager, she received silver and later gilded or gold earrings as a gift.
We should also mention colts - pendants for classic and temple earrings. Today we call them jacket earrings. Colts were often made "with a secret" - they had a hole in which a woman could hide magic herbs, turning the pendants into a talisman.
One of the most famous jewelry of the times of Kievan Rus and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania was the neck hryvnia (from the Slavic grivna, griva - "mane", "neck"). The twisted or smooth hoop is made of precious metals.
Hoops or wrist bracelets were popular because they "embraced" the hand. They were made of a thin rod (wire) and two wide metal plates with clasps. Such bracelets were decorated with various patterns, pagan and Christian ornaments, everyday or church scenes from life. At that time, bracelets had a practical function - they fastened the sleeves of clothes. They were considered festive and ceremonial jewelry.
Ceremonial, magical jewelry includes pendants or pendants that were attached to clothes or bags. They were used as amulets (lucky charms) to call fate to one's side, attract the attention of a loved one, etc.
From the Cossacks to the present
Since the Cossack era and until the early 20th century, various beads or monistas have been especially popular. They have their own regional differences in colors and materials, but they have the main function of emphasizing a woman's beauty and protecting her from any misfortune. Earrings and rings also remain popular, but bracelets are hardly ever mentioned during this period.
It is the necklaces of the 16th-19th centuries that are most often reinterpreted by contemporary craftsmen and women, adding their own vision, using new color combinations, modern materials and ornaments.
Young girls wore balamutas - strings of white mother-of-pearl. Crosses and images were added to them as amulets. Mother-of-pearl symbolized virginity, so young women and older women usually did not wear them.
Coral was a fairly common decoration. These beads in the form of cylinders or balls were imported from abroad and were quite valuable. The corals were strung on a thread called "razok". The more strings of coral there were, the wealthier a girl or woman was considered to be. Sometimes the number of threads with corals reached more than 25 pieces. The corals protected the health of their owner and enhanced her beauty.
We have several other jewelry items that primarily served as amulets. An archaic Hutsul necklace made of small metal bells called "sholesty". They were used to scare away evil spirits with their rustling sound. The zgarda amulet jewelry consists of beads and metal solar images strung on a thread (like small medallions). Later, Christian symbols such as crosses and images were added to them.
It is worth mentioning one more "sonorous" piece of jewelry - Bukovyna salbas or salbas. It is a breastplate made of cloth and densely embroidered with coins. Such jewelry was common among the Tatars.
A ducat or ducat is a festive ornament made from a coin, a military award, a religious medal, an image of the Virgin Mary, or a rounded token. The first jewelry was made from Austrian ducats, which is where their name comes from. They were also called panagiika, lichman, or yagnus. The main element of the jewelry is a round medallion (coin, image), which was decorated with a metal bow with precious stones. The dukach was worn on a satin or velvet ribbon over another necklace. This jewelry was inherited and was an important part of the dowry. Quite often, the dukach was given to a girl by her godfather on her first or second birthday. Lychman was worn only on major holidays. Modern jewelers make brooches in the shape of dukachs.
Neck beaded jewelry is still popular in western Ukraine. Gerdan, gerdanyk, gerdanka, gerda, luchka is a narrow ribbon woven from colorful beads that is worn around the neck (modern beauties call such jewelry chokers). When this beaded piece is sewn onto a satin, velvet, or linen ribbon, it is called a ribbon gerdan. Another type of gerdans is called sylianka, syl'ovanka, syl'enka, pletenka, pletenka. This word comes from the method of stringing the beads. There is a gerdan in the shape of a loop that is worn over the head and around the neck. It is up to the chest or slightly lower and often has beaded tassels at the ends.
Beads are also used to weave a festive neck ornament similar to a collar - a kryza or a crush, a kryvulka. It is quite openwork and goes down from the neck to the shoulders and chest. It is also a type of gerdan woven in the "sylian" method. Kryvulka is mostly a Lemko decoration, although it is sometimes found on Boikos and Hutsuls. The colors and geometric ornaments of these decorations correspond to the traditions of color in the embroidery of certain regions.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Ukraine saw the emergence of "blown glass" jewelry, such as darmovisy or luskavky, small shiny beads worn in several rows. They resemble Christmas tree decorations. And patsyorky, branzullets, branzolets, puffs - beads made in a factory or by hand. Mostly green, yellow, red, blue, white, and black colors. Beads made of Venetian and Murano glass, painted with enamel and inlaid with metal were called "Venetian". This necklace was expensive and only wealthy ladies could buy it.
Traditional jewelry in a modern look.
Combination of metals. This trend has been present in the collections of Ukrainian and international designers for several years now. So, you can easily combine designer gold rings with silver or copper copies of Cimmerian and Scythian products.
A combination of materials. Complement gold and silver chains with elegant beaded gerdans (chokers). Thus, adding a special charm of folk naïveté to your look. And combine ribbon gerdans with a long necklace made of glass or semi-precious stones.
Business style lovers will love the thin silver and gold bracelets made of twisted wire worn by girls of the Kievan Rus period. Or thin bracelets with stylish engraved floral ornaments from the princely era. You should also pay attention to patsyorkas or "Venetian" - depending on the combination of colors and patterns of beads, you can add style and status to the image of a businesswoman.
Corals and crisps will perfectly complement your festive outfit. Choose the colors inherent in your region or shades to match your mood - today there are no strict limits when "red is love and black is sorrow".
Shelestas, zgardas, and salbas also deserve attention, but you should be careful with them. If your outfit is a Ukrainian costume, feel free to combine them with many rows of corals or balamutas, as Ukrainian women of the 18th and 19th centuries traditionally did. If it is a laconic dress or shirt, one self-contained salba or zgarda will be enough.
Don't ignore colts (jacket earrings) - choosing a pendant with national motifs will make your look incomparable and truly authentic. Today, jewelers offer pendants with motanka, birds, bells and other folk motifs.
And finally, let's mention the dukach. This jewelry is not too old and can still be found in antique shops and among collectors. In a modern look, they can be used as brooches or traditionally worn on a ribbon. Foam brooches with national motifs are also gaining popularity.
The world of jewelry is endless and an integral part of our lives. Discover forgotten symbols, put your own meaning into the traditional jewelry of the Ukrainian people. Emphasize your unique beauty and remember that what is created and nurtured by an indomitable people always brings happiness.
Prepared by Olena Koval
Sources used
http://miku.org.ua/yvelirne_mistectvo_skifo-sarmatskoii.html
https://diamant.ua/articles/zoloto-skifov-kakie-ukrasheniya-nosili-nashi-predki/
Photo/drawing references: all images from Pinterest and Wikipedia
