Women’s Jewelry of the Sayano-Altai Turkic Peoples: Genesis, Typology, Semantics

The monograph presents the results of a comprehensive study of women’s jewelry of the Sayano-Altai Turks. In addition to technological, typological, and artistic aspects, it examines the symbolic and ritual functions of jewelry. Based on a wide range of materials from the collections of Russian museums, the author has carried out the classification and typology of women’s jewelry. For the first time, the complex of Sayano-Altai Turks traditional female jewelry is considered in the dynamics of development with the identification of the historical and genetic continuity of its main categories. Using field materials, the author characterizes the current state of jewelry crafts in Southern Siberia, analyzes the design, symbolism and iconic functions of modern women’s jewelry in the culture of the Sayano-Altai Turks. The book is addressed to specialists in the field of history, ethnography, museology, local history and researchers of traditional and modern cultures of the Turkic peoples of Southern Siberia, as well as a wide range of readers interested in folk culture.