Turkman jewelry is created by nomadic tribes who lived in
encampment- at times plundering the settled areas for booty
and slaves. Turkman constituted more than two dozen tribal
groups. They were pastoral nomads who moved two or 3 times
a year in order to ensure year round green pastures for their
animals.
Dating back to the 9th century the groups migrated as far as Iran,
Syria and Anatolia - others remained in what is known as
Turkmenistan. The Turkmen resisted being subject to any of the
the Islamic states and held tight to their pre-islamic customs and
beliefs. This can be seen in the motifs of their jewelry in the
shapes of animals, horns, mountains and plants. Each Turkman
tribe holds a specific mountain in their region sacred and that
tribe can only ascend it. Although they were not merchants
themselves they often provided transport and security for the
caravan trade.
Turkman jewelry carried deep symbolic meaning and often
marked an individuals passage from one stage of life to another.
Women start wearing jewelry at an early age and it was believed
that by wearing jewelry set with precious stones a woman could
increase her fertility. After giving birth a woman would slowly
decrease the amount of jewelry she wore as she aged .
Jewelry was a way to establish ones rank in Turkman society .
Jewelry was worn by those of all levels of society from Khans to
the substance level.
Jewelry was seen as an investment and in times of dire need a
woman would part with her jewelry to help the survival of the
tribe.
The embellished pieces were thought to have special protective
powers. Carnelian - which is a bright red colored stone is
believed to protect the wearer from illness and death. Turquoise
is thought to symbolize purity and chastity.