Local jewelers often used silver in their work. Gold was used less frequently due to its high price, but it was widely utilized, especially from the late 19th century, for gilding. For poor people, jewelry was usually made from silver-plated copper. Widely used gems were turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli, garnet, ruby and beryl. Items of jewelry were also decorated with mother-of-pearl, corals and pearls.
An affordable imitation of precious stones was colored glass, especially red, green and blue, which substituted for expensive rubies, emeralds and sapphires. The use of opaque light blue glass, which served as an imitation of popular turquoise, significantly expanded, especially in the late 19th century. Among common technologies were filigree, granulation, enamel, engraving, inlay, casting, gilding and others.
Among specific techniques used in Bukhara in the 19th century was a cellular incrustation method called tagnishin. This technique differs from the cellular enameling technique (cloisonné) in how the filling is created. While in enameling the cells are filled with enamel powder, which is then melted and spread to fill the area perfectly, in tagnishin the cells are filled with turquoises shaped to fit them.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Collection of the Czech Republic" (Volume XVI) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
