Tatar jewelry
Tatar jewelry.
A large variety of types and styles of jewelry were popular by the time of Golden Horde. Tatar noble families used jewelers from many places as, “the state stretched from the Danube in the west to the Irtish in the east. In the south-east it included the lands of the northern Khoresm with the town Urgench and the lower reaches of the Syrdarya, in the north-lands of the Volga-Kama Bulgaria, in the south- North Caucasus and the Crimea.”
Jewelers produced headdress as described by Ibn-Batuta,“ ...women of the Tatar nobility wore golden circles (on their hats) covered with precious stones and adorned with peacock feathers”. Earrings for men, as Khan Berke (1256-1266) ” in one ear (he) had a golden ring with a precious (octahedral) gem” (Al-Mufaddal) and earrings for women, a composite core wound with wire and one or two pearls at the end. There were also many beads and buttons, chest decoration, bracelets, fingerings and belts.
The leading style of that period involves the use of geometric patterns. However, all types of jewelry from that period demonstrate strong connections between the past and the future. Later in 18-19 centuries, we continue to see very similar jewelry made mainly from silver as gold becomes rare, and closer to the 20 century, some decorations for head and chest disappear.