Ukrainian women traditionally wore jewelry with their festive clothing. They sometimes used gold and silver jewels but the most popular and widespread were coral necklaces, beaded necklaces, and glass necklaces (in the Western Ukraine, glass beads often were colorful, painted with various patterns). A lot of samples of such vintage jewelry pieces are still in use or exhibited in museums. Here are a few examples below.
Men didn’t use jewels. But if they could afford, men used ornate weapons: sabers, knives, axes, etc. Their handles and sheaths often were adorned with gold and silver carving, precious stones, ivory, and other expansive embellishments. Jewelry1.jpgCostume_Lviv62.jpgCostume_Lviv22.jpgCostume_Lviv23.jpgCostume_Lviv18.jpgCostume_Lviv12.jpgJewelry2.jpgclothing34.jpgclothing35.jpg
Costly Ukrainian jewelry, around the 19th – early 20th century. Vintage coral necklace consisting of 15 rows of coral beads (two of them are adorned with silver) and an elaborate silver dukach pendant. The dukach is made from a silver coin in an intricate setting. There are colorful glass beads in the setting, and it is tied around the neck with a velvet ribbon. The whole set looks grand, festive, and expensive.
Pair of Ukrainian traditional earrings popular in the 19th – first half of the 20th century. This shape is very typical among ordinary villagers at the time. The gems were usually glass, not rubies or other precious stones. And the material was silver or rarer gold.
