Head ornament
Head Ornament
1850-1880
1850-1880
| Place of origin |
Turkoman jewellery is one of the most distinctive and easily recognisable styles of traditional jewellery. It was worn by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, in the present region of Turkmenistan and parts of northern Iran and Afghanistan. Although individual pieces rarely date from any earlier than the 19th century, many of the designs and symbols used are much older, often pre-Islamic in origin.
This head ornament was worn wrapped around the forehead, often attached to a cloth cap, with ear pendants hanging down at each side of the face. It was called a ‘yagluk’ when it was acquired by the museum. Today this kind of ornament is more commonly known as a ‘sinsile’, and the name ‘yaglik’ is now restricted to the veil which covers the wearer’s face. The curved projections above the three largest cornelians represent stylised ram’s horns, a symbol of great importance to the Turkoman.
It was acquired in Turkestan in 1884-5, during an Anglo-Russian conference to define the north-west frontier of Afghanistan, and was given to the Museum in 1900.
This head ornament was worn wrapped around the forehead, often attached to a cloth cap, with ear pendants hanging down at each side of the face. It was called a ‘yagluk’ when it was acquired by the museum. Today this kind of ornament is more commonly known as a ‘sinsile’, and the name ‘yaglik’ is now restricted to the veil which covers the wearer’s face. The curved projections above the three largest cornelians represent stylised ram’s horns, a symbol of great importance to the Turkoman.
It was acquired in Turkestan in 1884-5, during an Anglo-Russian conference to define the north-west frontier of Afghanistan, and was given to the Museum in 1900.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Head ornament |
| Materials and techniques | Silver set with carnelians |
| Brief description | Silver articulated head ornament (sinsile) set with cornelians with two rows of kite-shaped pendants, Turkestan, 1850-1880. |
| Physical description | Complex head ornament consisting of two bands of flat oval vertical segments linked by loop-in-loop chains. Each of the vertical segments is made from sheet silver stamped with a stylised floral pattern. The top band has five flat decorative plates interspersed at regular intervals between the oval segments. At each end, and in the centre, these are rectangular with down-curving horns at the top. Between them are two plain rectangular plaques, without horns. All five plaques are decorated with applied twisted wire and set with flat oval cornelians. There are 25 large and 23 (originally 24) smaller pendent lozenges hanging from the lower band in two tiers with the larger pendants at the bottom. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Letter in register: 'My husband bought the little cap [739-1900], breast ornament [736-1900] & head dress [735-1900], with large ear-rings [737&A-1900, 738&A-1900] from Turkestan, when with Sir Peter Lumsden in 1884 & 5. Also heavy bracelets [733&A-1900]. The shawl fastener [732-1900] & brooch [731-1900], are of Kabyle workmanship & I brought them from Algiers. Kabyle jewelry will be known by having coral & turquoise settings - Turkestan, by cornelian in silver' |
| Summary | Turkoman jewellery is one of the most distinctive and easily recognisable styles of traditional jewellery. It was worn by the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, in the present region of Turkmenistan and parts of northern Iran and Afghanistan. Although individual pieces rarely date from any earlier than the 19th century, many of the designs and symbols used are much older, often pre-Islamic in origin. This head ornament was worn wrapped around the forehead, often attached to a cloth cap, with ear pendants hanging down at each side of the face. It was called a ‘yagluk’ when it was acquired by the museum. Today this kind of ornament is more commonly known as a ‘sinsile’, and the name ‘yaglik’ is now restricted to the veil which covers the wearer’s face. The curved projections above the three largest cornelians represent stylised ram’s horns, a symbol of great importance to the Turkoman. It was acquired in Turkestan in 1884-5, during an Anglo-Russian conference to define the north-west frontier of Afghanistan, and was given to the Museum in 1900. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 735-1900 |
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| Record created | April 2, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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