Kazakh Tradition in Afghanistan

Antique Silver Turkoman Mountain Symbol Hair Ornament as Pendant

The Turkoman people comprise close to ten percent of the population of Afghanistan.  The Uzbeki and the Kazakh have developed their own silver and textile styles of fabricating the ancient symbols into modern fabrics and metals.  The Turkoman tribes such as the Teke, the Yomud and the Ersari who also reside in the Northern reaches of Afghanistan have their own ways of working in silver or fabrics.

The photo shows a piece of silver worked in the usual Turkoman way of having the front reflected on the back.  It is in the form of a tumar or pyramid shape, the symbolism of which is explained below.  The hollow silver pendants that hang from this piece that originally served as a veil or hair ornament also have a back piece that repeats the design on the front.  They form a rhombus, which is essentially the tumar reflected top to bottom instead of back to back.  These shapes have been established for over a thousand years among the people who came down from the Altai mountains onto the plains and steppes of Kazakhstan and Afghanistan.  This piece was created within that long tradition.  It dates from the early 1900s.  

The piece pictured above is one of a pair of Turkoman tenecir, ornaments worn on a head covering or in the hair, attached just above the ear at the temple. When worn as it is displayed on this page, the Turkoman tenecir becomes an elegant, obviously antique, handmade pendant symbolizing the mountain from which the tribe originated. Being beautifully worked in granulation on each side makes this a reversible piece of jewelry. On one side the silver is set with coral beads; on the opposite it is set with two shades of red glass beads or shards. The silver work is all original, but the metal neck chain has been added in recent times. Measurement: Length of chain is 22 inches. Ht, inc. attached symbols is 5 inches; width of pendant is 2.25 inches at base.

To purchase this item, see details HERE.

The Mountain as a Turkoman Motif

The triangular plaque with pendants is as prominent as the dome in the repertoire of the Turkoman silversmith.  The triangle is often backed with a piece with the same cut-out patterns of flora that the front plate has.  This two-layered hollow structure is very common in the best of the Turkoman jewelry pieces.  The photo here shows a good example of this kind of workmanship:

As you will note, the back and the front are almost identical.  But the space in between the two layers is open, as you see the red cloth background through either side.  

Many mountain symbols or *tumar* are made of rather thick, solid silver, often with gold applied to certain parts of the pattern inscribed on the front.  The back of the plate is left plain.  As in this example: 

In these side-by-side comparisons of items that came from the hands of Turkoman silversmiths, perhaps from different tribes, but all hold the same world view, and all express their spirituality with symbols of the mountain of their origins (tumar), the dome (gupba), the family (triple asik), the amuletic tube (bozbend) or the rectangular prayer box (galaj?).  In the case of the tumar/bozbend the mountain symbol and the amuletic tube  are combined for a spectacular piece such as that shown in this photo:

One of the serious studies of Turkoman culture, including the myths and symbols that express the mindset of the traditional Turkoman people, was done by Dieter and Reinhold Schlechter, Old Silver Jewellery of the Turkoman, 1983.   Copiously illustrated with drawings and photographs of the jewelry being worn by the people, as well as catalog photos from important collections.  It is a fascinating study of a culture that is in its vanishing stages.  

More information on many different examples of Turkoman jewelry from items for everyday wear and also items of museum quality can be found at http://craftsofthepast.artfire.com