UKRAINIAN FOLK WOMEN'S JEWELRY OF THE 19TH – EARLY 20TH CENTURIES | Anna Vrochynska

The monograph "Ukrainian Folk Women's Jewelry of the 19th - Early 20th Centuries" by Hanna Vrochynska for the first time comprehensively covers this bright phenomenon of folk art with its deep traditions. These jewelry were formed due to the development of numerous types of artistic creativity, such as stone and metal processing, glass production, weaving, embroidery, beadwork, various types of home needlework and trade relations with other countries.

Ukrainian folk women's jewelry was an integral part of the outfit, as well as an important attribute of rituals, customs and beliefs. They accompanied a woman almost throughout her life, therefore they are a valuable source of information about everyday life, ethnic norms and aesthetic preferences of different social strata of Ukrainian women.

This study by Hanna Vrochynska is dedicated to these ornaments — the history of their development, the materials of manufacture, the forms, ornamentation, color, and their role in the decorative and figurative structure of women's costumes. The author examines in detail the artistic features of ornaments made of flowers, fruits, plant leaves, textiles, feathers, stones, shells, beads, glass, colored stones and their imitations, metals, etc.

The book is richly illustrated thanks to collections of jewelry provided by the Museum of Ethnography and Handicrafts (Lviv), the Ivan Honchar Museum (Kyiv), the Chernihiv Historical Museum (Chernihiv), as well as private collectors. The artistic design of the book, created by the chief artist of the RODOVID publishing house Iryna Pasichnyk, is admired by both specialists and a wide range of readers.

To expand accessibility to foreign readers, a significant portion of the book, including the Introduction and Conclusions, has been translated into English by Danylo Dmytrovych (USA).