Turkmen jewelry is a type of
jewelry originating among the various
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
cultures of
Western and
Central Asia.
The jewelry was crafted both for cosmetic and spiritual reasons, and the amount of jewelry an individual adorned themselves with was equated to the person's rank in society.
History
A semi-nomadic people, the various Turkmen tribes often came into contact with urban population centers in the
Middle East.
Turkmen jewelers benefited from these exchanges, which allowed knowledge of jewel-crafting to spread to the Turkmen. Turkmen Jewelry is not homogeneous, as major variations existed between the artisans of the different Turkmen tribes.
set with precious stones became the most widely produced variant of Turkmen Jewelry.
Turkmen tradition holds that precious stones are beneficial to human health, and many Turkmen tribes believed jewels to possess magical powers.
The subjects depicted on the jewelry varied; some pieces depicted animals and floral patterns, while others displayed images of mountains sacred to the Turkmen or geometrical patterns.
Different gems were thought to have different effects on their wearers.
Carnelians and silver were worn to ward off death and disease, while
turquoise was worn as a symbol of purity.
Jewelry was used as a way to establish one's rank in Turkmen society. According to art historian
Layla Diba, Turkmen jewelry was created for and worn by all ranks of Turkmen society, from
Khans
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
to those at "subsistence level."
It was believed that, by wearing jewelry set with precious stones early in her life, a young woman could increase her fertility. After giving birth, a woman would then slowly decrease the amount of jewelry she wore as she aged.
Dresses were also made with patterns designed to complement the style of the wearer's jewelry.
The industry of making Turkmen jewelry remains in place today.
Due to the cost of precious metals and gemstones, some Turkmen jewelry substitutes glass beads for gems.
Gallery
File:Musée du Quai Branly Pendentif turkmene 04032012 1.jpg, Turkmen woman's jewel, metal and cornelian.
File:Musée du Quai Branly Bijou turkmene 04032012 1.jpg, Turkmen woman's jewel, silver, gold and cornelian.
References
{{Reflist
Jewellery
Ethnic Turkmen culture
Turkmenistan culture