Блеск и нищета бижутерии. Повседневные украшения в России и СССР, 1880–1980 годы

Summary

During nearly 50 years our family collected old Russian beadwork. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 we had the opportunity to correspond with foreigners and to visit foreign countries. For me the communication with colleagues about bead collecting seemed to be especially interesting. So in 2004 I came to the Annual Bead Fair of the Bead Society of Great Britain. There for the first time I made the acquaintance of the founders of BSGB: Stefany Tomalin and Carole Morris. Stefany was so kind as to invite me for a dinner (N1.1). She showed me her outstanding collection of beads and during our conversation she asked me what are typical Russian beads. This simple question surprised me, and on returning home, I started to look for a convincing answer.

After studying a lot of Russian portraits, I came to the conclusion that in the 18–19^th centuries our women from a peasant to the Empress preferred pearl necklaces. The only difference between them was the size of the pearls: the elaborate netting of tiny river pearls or a magnificent necklace of enormous impeccable pearls (ill. 2, 3). The wide application of pearls in the folk costume was possible, because in the past pearls could be found in almost all rivers in the North of Russia.

The false pearls brought from Europe were also very common. There is a story of famous Russian writer N. Leskov “Pearl necklace” (1885). The plot of the story is that a rich merchant gave his daughter for her wedding, instead of dowry, a gorgeous pearl necklace. Everybody was delighted, but one of the women said that to give pearls is a bad omen. On the next morning the father came to the new married couple and told the husband that the pearls are false. The young man was absolutely not offended and only asked his father-in-law not to tell this to his daughter, because this might upset her. So the father understood that his son-in-law was not greedy and gave him a big dowry. This was a double-happy end, because the bad omen was connected only with real pearls.

There are many other stories about pearls in our literature, but from the view of a collector this direction of collecting is not especially important. Much more promising seems to be the attempt to clarify what jewelry was worn in Russia by ordinary women. It turns out that this branch of collecting is connected with serious difficulties, because usually inexpensive jewelry has no labels. Women don’t value it and often throw it out or remake according to changes of fashion. Therefore I paid special attention to the origin and integrity of the items. Moreover it was interesting to learn something about manufacturing techniques of jewelry.

Beside the methods of making false pearls, many recipes were developed to reproduce other precious and semi-precious stone beads (ill. 8-11). Even cameos were successfully made of glass (ill.17). In the second half of the 19^th century the first synthetic materials which could be used in jewelry were developed. But the attitude of Russian society towards false jewelry before the Revolution (1917) was in the main very traditional. Noble women could wear only genuine stones and gold. Jewelry with glass was worn by lower classes or demimondaines. Nevertheless there were some exceptions. For example for young persons Venetian necklaces, micromosaic brooches or lava cameos brought as souvenirs from Italy, seemed to be quite popular (ill. 4, 6, 24, 24a). The jewelry made of jet or black glass was also very widespread (N1.12). In Russia, as everywhere in Victorian epoch, it was a sign of mourning. From the Caucasian resorts ladies brought silver pendants, bracelets and thimbles often with the inscription “Кавказъ”. Other Russian centers of cheap jewelry were situated in Krasnoje Selo on the Volga, Ribnaja Sloboda near Kazan, village Kostino near Dmitrov, and the countryside of Kholmogori in the Archangelskaja province.

At the end of the 1870s the so called Russian style became very fashionable. In the summer girls paraded in embroidered blouses and aprons with many varieties of necklaces (ill. 27, 27b). Among them could be beads similar to those worn by Russian peasants (ill. 28, 28a). Such jewelry made of the smallest beads could also be worn by the fashionable ladies in the city (ill. 28b).

In the early 20th century the new fashion style “art nouveau” appeared. Ladies abandoned corsets and put on the fashions of Paul Poiret and the jewelry of Rene Lalique. There is a story “ The Demonic Woman” by a famous writer of the time Nadezhda Teffi, who was extremely witty. It described an exotic lady, who “allows herself to wear a belt only on the head, an earring on her forehead or on her neck, a ring on the thumb, the watch on her leg”. The caricature of a fashionable woman published in St Petersburg in 1912 seemed to be an illustration of this story (ill. 40).

Of course “demonic women” were very few, but ordinary ladies began to wear much more jewelry than in the 19^th century and sometimes they were rather unusual (N1.41, 42). Furthermore, customs became more and more democratic, and even quite respectable ladies could afford to wear some trendy jewelry, made of inexpensive materials.

After 3 years of WWI October 25,1917 the so called Great October Socialist Revolution took place. Bolsheviks seized power and the old system was quickly done away with. “Demonic” women, noble ladies together with wives of rich businessmen disappeared. Sixty years old baroness M. Wrangell ran to work in leaky boots, tied with string, the sister of His Serene Highness Prince Menshikov was selling soap on the market, and the widow of General Svinyin embroidered children’s dresses. Everywhere there were searches and arrests. Workers, soldiers and sailors became masters, and they just took away any precious things that they found in wealthy homes (ill. 44).

But the expropriation of private property was not the final goal of new government. They wanted to create a totally new human race, which will build the new socialist society. Evidently a new woman had absolutely no need of any jewelry (ill. 53). Women who despite everything put on some jewelry, were cruelly derided. For example, in the magazine “Working Woman” (1923) a story was published about a worker and his wife, who bought at first earrings and afterwards icons. The husband condemned her for backwardness and burned the earrings together with icons. Then the wife repented and went to study at the technical school.

Nevertheless this propaganda was in vain. Women wanted to be beautiful in spite of everything. The few remaining magazines published the latest fashions, and co-operative associations of artisans tried to make modern jewelry. The most popular were of course pearls (N1.45, 45a). Women of fashion wore also very long beads of bone, glass or plastic (ill. 47, 48, 50, 51). Some wove themselves dog collars of “rocailles” or seed beads, which were very fashionable at this time (ill. 46). In the photos 50, 51 the women wore necklaces together with cameos (probably of plastic). One of them depicting Worker and Peasant could serve as a symbol of Soviet jewelry of the 1920s (ill. 52).

Some of the “former” ladies managed to save the long amber necklaces that had been highly fashionable before the Revolution (ill. 54, 56, 56a). On the photo 54 are my grand-parents with my father.

In the mid-1920s a new style became fashionable known as “art deco” so-called from the name of the Paris exhibition of applied art (Arts Decoratifs) and modern industry (1925). In the Soviet pavilion at this exhibition the dresses developed by the outstanding fashion designer Nadezhda Lamanova in cooperation with the famous sculptor Vera Mukhina were presented. Because of the lack of textiles in the Soviet country they were made of folk embroidered towels, and decorated with beads made of cockleshells, stones or bread (ill. 57). These models received the Grand Prix “for the costume based on national art”. At that time the painter Tagrina was active, who made interesting brooches with painted enamel (ill. 58).

Despite the efforts of some well-known artists, the attitude of the authorities towards jewelry didn’t change. The level of their negativism could be measured, in particular, by the caricatures in very wide-spread satirical magazine “Crocodile”. For example, in № 9 (1932) one could see a disgusting woman playing cards, which wore two strings of beads, a ring and long earrings, what was to emphasize her hostile class essence (ill. 59).

All appeals of official publications to create a new Soviet fashion and to refuse jewelry didn’t take any effect. Women made every effort to look fashionable. In particular, the subject of their cherished dreams was jewelry in Art Deco style (ill. 60). These dreams sometimes could come true thanks to the small cooperative associations of artisans. In the photo 62 we see a group of vacationers in the resort Yessentuki (1934). Two women wear quite similar necklaces made very probably by some local handicraftsman.

Gradually old handicrafts began to revive, except icon painting, because Bolsheviks were atheists and fought actively against religion. So the inhabitants of Palekh in the countryside, who for hundreds of years painted icons, got into a very difficult situation. One of the masters 1.1. Golikov found the way out. He proposed to paint lacquered boxes in the style of icons. Along with the boxes they began to paint brooches with scenes of Russian tales and new Kolkhoz life (ill. 64). Their production was a great success, and later similar craftsmens associations were organized by other former icon painters in the villages of Mstera and Kholui. Masters of enamelling who painted holy pictures in Rostov Veliky did this too.

The factory in the country side Kostino also began to work (ill. 66). Among its most common products were beads in the form of black and white dumbbells (ill. 66a). Apparently, Czech beads at that time as well were not very dear (ill. 67).

But the “iron curtain” went down rapidly and in 1930s import of foreign jewelry ended. Common people were not allowed to travel, and to receive parcels from abroad became very dangerous. Nevertheless there were exceptions. For example, the beloved woman of our famous poet Mayakovsky Lilja Brik could ask him in her letter (1925) to bring her some fashionable green beads. May be they were a necklace in Egyptian style, made by Max Neiger (ill. 68).

Not everyone’s destiny developed so well as that of Mrs. Brik. So was the story of our great poet A.A. Akhmatova. Her husband – also well-known poet N. Gumilev, was shot. Her son was imprisoned. Her poems were not published for a long time. All her life she loved beads, but after the Revolution they looked rather like a sign of mourning (ill. 70a-70d). Looking at her portraits one notices that on one of them she wears a rosary instead of beads (ill. 70b). Most probably it was connected with the title of the first publication of her collection of poems “Rosary” (1914), that made her famous.

Soviet girls also often wore a rosary as a necklace. They were atheist and paid no attention to their religious meaning. For the transformation of a rosary into beads it was enough to remove a cross (ill. 72). As a typical example of such an attitude to the rosary can serve two embroideries made from the same pattern: one 1830s another 1950s. Between them there is only one difference – the lack of a cross on the later one (ill. 71,71a).

At that time the production of inexpensive jewelry in USA flourished (ill. 73–75). Many companies produced costume jewelry, the leading designers on both sides of the Atlantic were competing in the development of new fashions in this field.

At the same time in Soviet Union the fight for the look of the new woman proceeded. In the photos in the women’s magazines it was impossible to find even the most modest jewelry. In the early 1930s, the Great Terror gradually began, and many women for whatever reason, were sent to concentration camps. Even there they were trying to find a way to adorn themselves. In many recollections how prisoners made beads of black bread is described. This technique turned out to be very popular and was used even much later until 1960s (ill. 123).

On June 22,1941, Nazi Germany attacked the USSR. With the date a story of simple plastic beads is connected. One of our neighbors told me that on this day her father, who was a well-known scientist went as usual to work, but suddenly returned home. When his wife asked him, what was the matter, he answered: “To kiss you”. It was the last time that she saw him. He was arrested straight at work and died in prison. Since this day she wore only these black beads (ill. 78).

Needless to say, during the war the Soviet women had no time for jewelry. They fought at the front, worked at defense plants, or died of hunger in blockaded Leningrad. There was no sign of jewelry on the photos in the remaining women’s magazines. Only once in a caricature in “Crocodile” (№ 25, 1945) one could see beads on the neck of Goebbels’ secretary.

Despite all the difficulties of wartime the desire of girls to look attractive was ineradicable. This can be proved in a photo of a young peasant girl, made in the midst of war (1943) (ill. 79). Most probably, she took this attire from her mother’s dower chest to make the photo and send it to her friend.

Closer to the end of war parcels with foreign dresses and jewelry began to come to Russia more and more often. Furthermore in shops jewelry appeared made of bohemian garnets (ill. 80). For the first time Russian women had the opportunity to get something fashionable. Most in demand by them were short beads and brooches with transparent stones (ill. 83). No less fashionable were also necklaces of opaque white glass and braided strands of beads (ill. 84-85b).

After the war the Baltic States were joined on to USSR. There for a short time one could buy some foreign bijoux in the flea markets. So black wooden beads with flowers and plastic chain were bought in 1946-47 in the flea market in Riga (ill. 86-86a). Somewhat later our women began to bring national brooches – “sacta”, from Latvian resorts (ill. 86, 86a). In Kaliningrad (former Koenigsberg) amber factories began to work (ill. 87–88). Along with its mass production there were artisans, who made amber brooches with carved inside insects, lizards and even ships (ill. 88a).

At the factory in Kostino and in many small workshops the production of glass beads began again (ill. 89). Brooches in the form of spiders, butterflies, or baskets still remained extremely popular (ill. 90). But it was very difficult to buy such “valuables” and the majority had to be satisfied with primitive glass brooches (ill. 93a).

The attitude of the authorities to jewelry still remained negative, but became less aggressive. In the caricatures in “Crocodile” can be found a clear distinction between positive and negative persons. The moral degradation of the secretary, whose boss is advancing in employment, is followed by emergence of more and more jewelry (ill. 92). The employee who is constantly late for work wears not only a brooch, but also beads (ill. 93).

As always pearl necklaces remained the most popular (ill. 100,100a). There is a touching story about a former soldier and a young girl, who survived the blockade of Leningrad but completely lost her hair. They were a very affectionate couple, and once he bought her a pearl necklace. At that time the dresses of black velvet were in fashion. The wife had no such dress and decided to try the necklace on her black cat. The cat with the necklace ran away. Later it returned, but evidently without beads. She had fear that the husband will kill the cat, but he simply bought her another similar necklace. She wore it until her death, and the husband put it into her coffin.

In early 1960s after Stalin’s death in USSR foreign jewelry appeared for the first time. In Moscow several exhibitions of Czech glass took place (ill. 95). And after so many years of jewelry starvation our women saw the splendid examples of Czech beads, earrings, bracelets etc. Soon they appeared also in the shops. Elderly ladies liked imitations of garnets and transparent faceted beads (ill. 95). Young girls preferred so called “ fruit salad” beads and braids of beads (ill. 97–99). Imports from China and DDR also began (ill. 102,103).

By the end of the 1950s multi-strand beads became extremely fashionable (ill. 104–107). One fashion magazine even recommended to wear them with your overcoat. Wooden necklaces were also very popular (ill. 109). Soon the wooden beads began to be made in local workshops. The necklaces from Manchurian walnut – real wooden lace, were especially desired (outer necklace on N1.109). Bone carving workshops gradually returned to work in Kholmogory, as well as Rostov enamel masters, and factories making jewelry of semiprecious stones in the Urals (ill. 110–112).

Most wore the production of domestic factories and workshops or Czech jewelry, but at that time there was a group of youth named “styljagy” focused entirely on the western fashion. Their style of clothes and jewelry was exaggeratedly fashionable, and their appearance sharply stood out from the crowd. The authorities conducted an uncompromising struggle with them, and the magazine “Crocodile” constantly published caricatures deriding them (ill. 103). Girls who did not want to or could not work, were also depicted hung with beads and earrings (ill. 104,105). The enemies of the proletariat were also not forgotten: lady Astor in the caricature depicting American capitalism wears both beads, earrings and bracelets (ill. 106).

The US market was indeed overcrowded with costume jewelry, distinguished by the abundance of shiny stones and bright gilding. The only kind of jewelry that disappeared from the US market for a long time was a Czech jewelry. Practically the whole production of Jablonex was exported to USSR. The designs of Czech jewelry didn’t change so strongly over the years. That’s why quite similar brooches often are dated differently: here (1960-70s) and in USA (1920-30s) (ill. 119,119a).

Czech jewelry and the very traditional production of our factories couldn’t satisfy completely the demand of Russian women, who were deprived for a long time of any jewelry. So they started to make it themselves of paper, various seeds, nuts, alder cones, birch bark (ill. 120). Some skilled craftsmen created for their favorite girls whole sets of jewelry (ill. 121, 121a). The method of making beads of bread was also not forgotten (ill. 123).

In the early 1960s long necklaces became extremely fashionable, especially those composed of separate beads connected by chains (ill. 123a-125). The Kaliningrad Amber Factory and Lithuanian masters also decidedly modernised the style of their products (ill. 126,127). Their buyers found plastic beads of fake amber as well (ill. 128).

Brooches with so called “abstract” designs enjoyed exceptional popularity. Brooches, unreleased by Tallinn jewelry factory (label “T30-33 Met”) were very interesting. In the State Art Institute of the Estonian SSR in 1966-68s series of stamped metal brooches were created with ethnographic motifs. Usually they have a brand «Tallin KJ». Similar in style brooches were produced also in Latvia (ill. 129).

In early 1960s the Leningrad jewelry factory (label «ЛФ») and the Leningrad jewelry- watch plant (label «ЛЮ») began to produce brooches in so called “abstract” style by the method of hot enamel (ill. 130–132). The figure after the brand designates the year of production. For example, «ЛФ0» indicates that the brooch was made in 1960. The letter “M” designates that it was made of base metal. Designers of these brooches were young graduates of art school. The Leading role among them played Vera G. Povolotskaya, whose works are now in many museums in Russia. From my point of view, they are no less interesting than, for example, the well-known brooches of French artist Lee Stein, who began to work in late 1960s (ill.133-133b). Many factories made similar brooches using simpler technologies and cheaper materials (ill. 134). The same factories produced a large number of childrens brooches, which were extremely popular at that time (ill. 134a).

The masters working with semiprecious stones also passed to the new style of design (ill. 135). Nevertheless there was not enough jewelry, and many women longed for something rare, peculiar, or unusual. There were many goldsmiths, but at that time private persons were strictly forbidden to work with precious stones and materials. So such masters took a big risk, but their clients did not betray them. At least two of these masters worked very skillfully: one was a brilliant jeweler (ill. 136, 137), the second – a proficient carver (ill. 138, 139).

In 1970s the folk style became very fashionable (ill. 142, 142a). For a long colorful gown large beads of plastics, ceramic, untreated amber and bone fitted very well (ill. 141, 145). Khokhloma workshops that specialized in the manufacturing of hand-painted wooden ware, also began to produce beads and brooches (ill. 143). At the same time in our shops a large number of roughly shaped corals appeared. They were brought from the Ukraine, where they were part of the national costume. Later our women of fashion rearranged them, combining with various silver beads (ill. 146, 146a). At the same time in Moscow the first Indian shop was opened, where among other things ivory jewelry was sold (ill. 148).

Quite different were the brooches (also earrings and rings) that were made in Palekh, Mstera, or Kholui. They were masterly executed miniatures close in style of painting to the Russian icons (ill. 149, 149a). Now you can find a large number of fakes of this jewelry. They differ from the original jewelry by much more rough painting and lack of the thinnest golden ornament. Moreover the genuine wares usually have the inscription «Палех», «Мстера» or «Холуй», the year of manufacture and sometimes the artist’s family name. Similar brooches were made also in Fedoskino, but with different subjects: pretty girls, landscapes etc (the girl in kokoshnic on ill. 149).

The product range of the «Rostov enamel» factory became much more diverse. More simple enamel jewelry was made in small town Pavlovo on Oka (ill. 150). Amber jewelry also became very varied and attractive (ill. 151, 152). Thus jewelers finally preferred natural amber rather than fused and colored, trying to highlight its beauty using minimum processing.

In 1980s costume jewelry was finally rehabilitated. The magazines began writing about fashion jewelry, and our women wore the products with pleasure: many types of chains, leather jewelry, embroidered brooches and pendants, colorful clips and beads, and many bracelets on the arms appeared in their wardrobe (ill. 153–156).

To know more about jewelry we traveled to Jablonex, Venice, St Petersburg, and Dmitrov (ill. 160-168a). It was very interesting, but the most valuable information could be obtained at the flea markets and from the memories of friends and relatives, from old photos, from fiction and published memoirs. Many stories, connected with the cheapest jewelry, are very touching. Women remember the beads or rings, which they wore in their youth. Quite often these stories are associated with a certain magic of jewelry. Especially often the tales refer to the beads which are perceived as a symbol of destiny stringing separate episodes on a single thread.

Such was the story of our great poet Marina Tsvetaeva. In childhood she liked to wear simple necklaces made of shells. And later all her life she loved unusual jewelry. Often she wrote in her letters, that she was charmed by some necklace or ring and will never separate with it. Her destiny was tragic: after revolution she fled with her husband and daughter to France, where she lived in poverty. In 1939 she returned with her family to USSR. There her husband and daughter were arrested. She remained alone without means of support with a teenage son. In 1941 when war began, she was evacuated with her son to a small town on Volga Yelabuga. There she committed suicide. On her last photo of 1940 she wore an amber necklace which she loved very much and apparently dedicated her last poem to it (ill. 173, 173a).

(unfortunately, I couldn’t find the translation and have done it myself)

As a result of my researches I understood that I still can’t give a definite answer to Stefany’s question asked many years ago. However this area of collecting turned out to be exclusively interesting. And I am extremely grateful to all who helped me all this time.

E. Yurova

Edited by S. Tomalin