Dorsal Headdress Ornament, One of a Pair

Two Pairs of Dorsal Headdress Ornaments (2016.714.2, .3 and 2009.530.5a, b)

These two pairs of ornaments, decorated in the finest style of Yomut workmanship, present an exceptionally elegant and refined surface ornamentation of gilded appliqués, ram’s-head and foliate motifs, and interspersed carnelians. Although they exhibit the usual Yomut preference for small scale and busy patterning, they are distinguished by a subdued color scheme based on the modulated browns, honeys, and reds of the carnelians. The symmetry and harmony of the design are particularly evident in the skillful balancing of the horizontal and vertical components.

The underlying shapes are based on the bow-and-arrow motif associated with boys’ amulets, oksay. Similar works have been described both
as boys’ amulets and as dorsal and plait ornaments for women,[25] illustrating the interchangeability of designs and adaptability of forms typical of Turkmen ornaments.

Layla S. Diba in [Diba 2011]

Footnotes:

25. See Firouz, Iran Ala. Silver Ornaments of the Turkoman. Tehran, 1978, p. 33, figs. 34–36; Kalter, Johannes. “The Tribal Jewelry of Turkestan.” In Hasson, Rachel. Later Islamic Jewellery. Exh. cat., L. A. Jerusalem, 1987, p. 138, figs. 196 and 197, and references therein.

Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf, Toronto, Canada (by 2006–9; gifted to MMA)

Diba, Layla S. "Silver Ornaments from the Marshall and Marilyn R. Wolf Collection." In Turkmen Jewelry. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. no. 22, pp. 66–67, ill. p. 67 (color).