Jewelry art took a special place in the development of handicraft since the times of Kazakh Khanate. The ideal of people, its tastes, and a level of artistic and financial values are fully and vividly reflected in it.

 The antique jewelry from the collection of Museum of Art «Ademi-ai» are presented on the exhibition «Jewelry art». The Museum of Art «Ademi-ai» was founded in 2011 by a well-known collector, art historian Bakhargul Tolegen. It is possible to see archeological artifacts of Kushan empire dated from I-III century BC and historical rarities of VI-XII centuries in the museum exposition, the funds of which amount more than thousands of exhibits. 

The items of decorative-applied art, national souvenirs of company «Ademi-ai» specially made in honor of the 550th anniversary of Kazakh Khanate are also presented on the exhibition. The company is engaged in the revival of historical-cultural values and national traditions for 13 years.

 All jewelry is closely connected with the history of Kazakh people and reflects the development of the national culture, the origins of which go back to centuries. 

«The exhibition is unique that it was collected from Central Asia region. It reflects the culture of Central Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan too. If you note, there is tumar in the collection dated from XVII century. In my opinion, it is Kazakh talisman — one of the unique exhibits of this exhibition. I also want to mention that private collection of Imangali Tasmagambetov also takes a worthy place in the study of the heritage of Kazakh applied art. A part of Tasmagambetov’s collection is demonstrated separately from this exhibition, which reveals one of the dimensions of spiritual richness of Kazakh culture»-said First Deputy Director Kulbayeva Zhazira. 

It should be noted that Kazakh jewelers — zergers («zer-zar» — gold from Persian) worked alone and passed their skills through the generations. The range of subjects made by zerger was broad: it included women’s jewelry, items for costume, personal care items, cutlery, plaques for decoration of the wooden frame of the yurt, furniture, wooden and leather ware, musical instruments, weapons and horse harness. 

The stylistic of jewelry was also various, which is determined by the geographical factor and a nomadic way of life of Kazakh people. The jewelry art of Kazakh people developed and enrichened in the atmosphere of constant pulsation of the Nomads in giant spaces of the Asian steppe zone in communication with various people and in exchange of cultural values.

 Silver became the favorite material of Kazakh zergers. Speaking of Kazakh people’s jewelry, it is necessary to note that almost all of them had both decorative and magical-protective function and shape, ornament and material were given a semantic value. 

By Miras NURLANULY