PRESERVE TRADITON, CREATE LUXURY
Author: Ordasi Ágnes
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
The horse, both like a partner and
like a working animal, has been
present in human life for millennia.
The man of the past wanted to utilize
all his cartilage, so the horse’s fur was
also processed. The fi rst surviving work
is from around the 12nd century, which
was a woman’s hair band. Similar supplements
were worn by the Baltic people
until the 20th century. Subsequently,
the oldest horsehair ring that survived,
is from the fi rst half of the 17th century
and was made in Spain. Jewellery from
that age was characterized by Baroque
splendour. In the Netherlands, after
1685, horsehair jewellery became widespread,
brought by Protestants fl eeing
French lands. In the 19th century, geometric
shapes appeared all over Europe,
and in addition to geometric patterns,
the products were often given names
and courting words. These commodities
were present in Italy, Denmark, Norway,
England and northern Germany. The
fashion to wear this traditional jewellery
spread from the beginning of the
20th century. It became very common
in Romania and Slovenia, thus, women
wore necklaces, headdresses and earrings
made of horsehair, while men wore
watch chains and bracelets.
During the First World War, soldiers
and Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of
war revived the art of jewellery making,
mainly from Somorja (which is next to
the Danube) to Szentmihá ly.
The making of horsehair jewelleries is
a time-consuming process, so mainly
shepherds, prisoners and prisoners of
war were employed with this kind of art.
The Hungarian relic is a needle holder
made of horsehair with the inscription:
1861.
During his imprisonment which was in
Kufstein, Sándor Rózsa also made rings
from the already mentioned material
and then he later sold them.
The folk artist György Németh told that
Sándor Bodrogi was the most famous
master of horsehair jewellery making in
Hungary.
HOW DID THE NOMAD JEWELLERIES
BECOME LUXURY ITEMS?
Horsehair jewelleries are made
from the fur of a horse’s cauldron,
mane and tail. These materials
are strong, fl exible and elastic enough
for machining. The hair of a long ponytail
with a shiny surface is most suitable for
the production of jewellery, and its braid is
almost unbreakable. It has a hollow structure
like the hair of humans, so it is hygroscopic
and insulating. Masters usually
work the fur of stallions and prefer black
as it prevails best on the skin. They combined
the horsehair with other materials and
make magical and special jewelleries.
Many foreign artists have taken this craft
to an outstanding level, which brings the
concept of horsehair jewellery making
into a new dimension. They combined the
horsehair with other quality materials like
gold, white gold, rose gold or platinum.
In these jewelleries, the tradition and design
are united with peak technology. A
team of dedicated experts’ hand-weaves
the pattern inside the jewellery, supplemented
with precious metal fi bres if it is
necessary. The goldsmiths design and
execute the shape of the jewellery to the
highest standards in order to protect the
braided horsehair and make it as exclusive
as possible.
During the production of these elegant
and unique jewelleries, there are often personal
stories and emotional
threads in the background.
In most cases, customers
ask for the production of
jewellery from the hair
of their own goods, thus
also expressing the attachment
to their horses. In
this case they receive a tangible
memory, which gives
a higher value in addition
to elegance.
The combination of expertise,
textures found in nature
and individual desires
creates an impressive result
condensed into a tiny piece
of jewellery.
These premium quality
jewelleries can cost from
hundreds of euros to thousands.
Outstanding masters
live in England, Germany
and the United States.