History of jewellery in Ukraine

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Jewellery as an art form originated as an expression of human culture. Body ornamentation, one purpose of jewellery, has been known since at least the Stone Age.^[1] The history of jewellery in Ukraine reflects the influence of many cultures and peoples who have occupied the territory in the past and present.

Contribution of autochthon cultures

The first known jewellery from the territory that is now Ukraine dates back to the

.

Jewellery artifacts from the Bronze Age found in Ukraine[citation needed]

Jewellery of peoples that migrated through Ukraine

In the

, many of their pieces had floral and animal based themes.

Fertile soils and a favorable climate along the

zoomorphic

compositions. Techniques improved considerably during the prosperous times of the Scythian state.

The

mountings

Greek art of the Black Sea region influenced the Sarmatian style. Most notably it increased the color range. Together with

-fibulas were often made in this style.

By the 3rd century BCE Celtic art began to penetrate into southern regions of Ukrainian territory. In Roman provinces a renaissance of Celtic handicrafts took place, in particularly in the form of jewellery. These ornaments were introduced near the Black Sea and points further north. Another entry point for Celtic jewellery into the present day territory of Ukraine was trade and cultural contacts with northern tribes. Celtic art and culture spread into the British Isles, Germany and the Baltic Sea coast and from there into Ukraine. Every region in Ukraine shows some Celtic influence in the styles of arms and jewellery production. Jewellery making traditions of Ukraine also influenced other cultures. For example, the Goths came to the area sometime before 400 CE and adopted some of the techniques prevalent in Ukraine, including polychrome and animal styles later reflected in the Merovingian style of jewellery.

The Goths left the Black Sea region under pressure from the

) influenced and were influenced by the culture of Ukraine.

Traditional Ukrainian jewelry

The early 6th century saw the spread of

. Slavic metal amulets such as spoons, hatchets, horses, ducks, zoomorphic and anthropomorphic sewed plates are also well known.

Around this time, Ukraine also began to feel the influences of the

.

Traditional jewelry in

.

Amulets

In

culture of ancient Rus

.

• 
  Amulet with saints on one side
• 
  Chernihiv hryvnia

The Renaissance period

A further stage of development of jewellery art in Ukraine happened under the period of

]. Jewellers of this period were involved both in the production of items for monasteries and churches, and the production of items for secular use such as dishes and jewellery. Silver belts were a specialty of the craftsmen of Lviv. They had characteristic silver or gilded engraved alternating oval and rectangular plates.

Cutting of diamonds and other gemstones was invented in the mid 14th century. This allowed for lighter settings that covered less of the stone. The arrival of the first imported cut diamonds therefore were of great interest to the merchants in Ukraine.

Ukrainian jewellery was also influenced in this period by works originating in

. Ukrainian products were available in the foreign markets of Poland, at fairs in Ukraine, and elsewhere.

The techniques that were used in jewellery making continued to be perfected. Jewellery became smaller and lighter. Earrings were more often worn in pierced ears rather than at the temple or plaited into hair. The form of armlets changed, becoming light solid bands or chains made of gilded niello with diamonds or pearls. Pearls, buckles and decorative buttons became popular among men and women of all social classes.

The Baroque period

Along with goldsmiths' guilds jewellers also worked in private

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

. This era also brought considerable interest in precious stones. Masters of diamond and gem faceting began appearing.

Later periods

In the countryside, the production of rural, non-professional jewellery became more common. It drew ideas from ancient heathen forms and patterns. At the turn of the 19th century master jewellers arose in the Carpathian Mountains, especially among the Hutsuls. Among them were brass masters Dudchak, Medvidchuk, and Fedyuk. In the eastern regions of Ukraine, dukach (stamped medallions or golden coins hanging on a chain) became common. In Western Ukraine a popular item was zgarda (a rope of silver coins in the form of necklace).

World War I and the Russian Civil War stopped any progress in the development of jewellery making in Ukraine.

Soviet times

Under the

“Regarding the Elimination of Excessiveness in Design and Construction”. This set the task for artists – to find new forms and techniques with the use of allowed materials.

During the period of

. Small workshops were allowed to exist exclusively for repairing items. The “classic Soviet” design (berries, flowers, leaves) became characteristic of industrially produced patterns. Due to the shortage of specialized designers, flexibility in reacting to the needs of the consumer as well as innovation in jewellery design was greatly lacking.

For many years Ukraine was deprived of the opportunity to participate in the processes of contemporary artistic jewellery creation. There were many reasons for this, such as ideological prejudices of the Soviet regime, lack of contact with craftsmen in other countries, prohibition of individual artists to work with precious materials, and a lack of artistic education in many artists.

Modern era

At present, no college or university in Ukraine offers study of the design of specifically Ukrainian jewellery. However, five secondary art-oriented institutions exist where students can study the technology and design of jewellery. In the Lviv Academy of Fine Arts, at the only faculty of metal working in Ukraine, one semester is devoted to the small forms. It is still impossible to work officially with precious materials in the workshops of the Academy because of confusing and complicated legislation.

The absence of specialized galleries and artistic critics makes it difficult for individual artists to realize their works. The lack of regular exhibitions and competitions means that creative ideas are not being exchanged. A lack of tools and materials is present, even though the number of jewellery workshops during the post-Soviet period has increased almost tenfold. Legislation allows workshops to be opened by persons who are not professionally skilled. Copyright laws are not enforced. Goldsmiths in Ukraine are isolated from each other since there is no union or association. There are few contacts with colleagues from abroad, and there is still no professional literature in Ukrainian.

The first attempt to congregate jewellers from different regions of Ukraine was the 1997 exhibition "Treasures of Ukraine" in the newly created museum of the National Bank of Ukraine in Kyiv. In 1999, the "Jeweller-Expo" exhibition was held in Kyiv for the first time. In Ukraine, there are four state jewellery factories, two state factories of stone cutting, and one state enterprise of the mining and processing of amber. Only recently Ukraine began to extract its own gold.

Some small

have been founded in recent years. Also, some personal and group exhibitions of jewellery have taken place in Kyiv, Lviv and other cities. Ukrainian artists participate successfully in competitions and exhibitions abroad. Every year, many young artists are joining the search for new forms and innovative materials.

See also

• Scythian art
• Celtic art
• Ukrainian Baroque

References

Sources

• Brepohl, E. Theophilus Presbyter und das mittelalterliche Kunsthandwerk. Cologne, 1999. (2 volumes).
• Untracht, O. Metal Techniques for Craftsmen. New York, 1968
• Rybakov, B. Ancient Slavic Paganism. Moscow, 1981.
• Rybakov, B. Craft of Ancient Rus'. Moscow, 1948.
• Bezpalyi, L. Jewellery. Moscow, 1950.
• Kiz', Ya. Industry of Lviv During Feodalism Period, XIII — XIX c. Lviv, 1968.
• Utkin, P. Russian Jewellery. Moscow, 1970.
• Aseev, Yu. Sources of Art in Kyivan Rus. Kyiv, 1980.
• Zholtovskyi, I. Art life in Ukraine in XVIII c. Kyiv, 1983.
• Українська минувшина: ілюстрований етнографічний довідник. – К.: Либідь, 1993. – С. 130–132
• Катерина Матейко. Український народний одяг: етнографічний довідник. – К.: Наукова думка, 1996. – С.149–159
• Хведір Вовк. Студії з української етнографії та антропології. – К.: Мистецтво, 1995. – С.129–131

External links

• Ukrainian jewellery at Ars Ornata Europeana
• Reconstruction of Slavic costume (in Ukrainian)
• Nomadic Art of the Eastern Eurasian Steppes, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on jewellery in Ukraine