Preview
Creation Date
Late 19th or early 20th century
Geography
Kazakhstan
Medium
Silver and carnelian
Dimensions
Pendent: 2 1/8 × 2 11/15 × 3/15 in. (5.3 × 6.8 × 0.5 cm)
Bell ornaments: 4 1/8 × 2 11/15 × 6/8 (10.8 × 6.8 × 1.8 cm) (depth is of largest bell)
Chain: 13 × 2/8 × 1/10 in. (33 × 0.6 × 0.25 cm)
Max. entire object: 19 4/8 × 2 11/15 in. (49.53 × 6.8 cm)
Weight: 2.889 oz. (81.9 gm.)
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.20
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from The Chair Store in San Francisco on March 21, 1979.
Description
This pendant is a pentagonal shaped object attached with chains and bell ornaments. Draping from the bottom of the pendant are two bell ornaments that are angled at different heights by chains. The upper bell is badly damaged and flattened and is missing its internal small ball so it makes no noise. Above the pendant is a braided chain meant to wear around the neck with a clasp attaching it to the pendant. The back of the object contains two decorations that contain carnelian and is completely flat. The decorations are elevated by dotted, zig-zag figures.
This piece includes motifs, color, and ornamentation elements that give it meaning. It has two motifs of dagdans, which, according to Noruzi and Kermani, prevent the evil eye, and they are inset with carnelian, which gives it a distinct red element. Noruzi and Kermani suggest that the red color is against “bleeding, ulceration and abortion.” This suggests that red may symbolize life and fertility, and that its placement on a piece of jewelry is meant to protect against injury and loss of life. The use of this red stone within a dagdan may symbolize a protection of life against death and its association with evil. The association of this stone and its meaning paired with the dagdan can create a connection between a symbol of life within a motif that symbolizes the protection of life.
Further Reading
Layla S. Diba, Turkmen Jewelry: Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn Wolf Collection (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011).
Hossein Noruzi, and Imanzakariai Kermani, “Concepts of Motifs in Culture: a Review of the Jewelry of Turkmen Women,” Chitrolekha International Magazine on Art and Design 5, no. 2 (2015): 13–26.
Gus Callejas ’26, Lucia Kornzweig ’26, Olivia Rataezyk ’24
Purchase Receipt and Supporting Documents