The making of jewelry in Pirot and its surrounding is based on the traditional medieval influence lasting till the beginning of the 20th century providing the Serbian culture with the autochthonous pieces of jewelry known in typology as “the Pirot jewelry”
. The level of development of this craftswork is expressed in the fact that in 1896 there were 33 well-known goldsmiths in the town. The process of industralization caused the market to be inundated with the cheap pieces of jewelry manufactured in the West, which led to the reduction of the number of goldsmiths at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1914 only five goldmith workshops were registered and between the two World Wars even those five were closed.
Goldsmiths made jewelry in different techniques various techniques of casting, chiseling, engraving, enameling, filigree, granulation, silver-plating, and gold-plating. They used a wide range of metals: silver, alpaca, gold, bronze, brass, copper adorned with putting in so called glass paste, precious stones, mother-of-pearl and coral.
Married women wore pieces of jewels on their heads, brests, hands, and around the neck and waist, while the bride's jewelry is more luxorious and complex because the protective role in marriage was attributed to it.
In villages the headpieces of jewerly were bought mainly to the brides. Jewerly was purchased either at the goldsmith's or at the widly-known Pirot fair. Either the "kacak" (pigtail made of goat hairs) or lots of small gold coins used to be braided into a long girl's hair.
Kerchiefs and scarfs were decorated with large ornamental pins: “konđuša", "čulumka" or “keračeska”.Those are even 40cm long pins, assembled of the biconical-shaped head covered with tiny granular stones.The middle itself, the lower part of the head and the foot of the button were covered with the small wreath made of coarse granules. There was a filigree wire coil at the conic peak filled in with a piece of cotton soaked in parfume. Instead of having been decorated with coarse granules some pins had red, blue or green glass paste tightened in or were decorated with short necklace with pendants. Other decorative pins, used primarily for tightening the cap or scarf, are those of seven feathers-shape "sedmoperke", of radial indented rim with three round granules and blue or red stone tightened in the middle. These pins were made exclusively in the Pirot area and therefore considered to be the autochthonous jewerly.
“Dzvezda” was also a headpiece of jewerly and consisted of two framed rosettes, joined with neckleses and "ven'c" (wreath) made of a string of small metal pieces with coin-shaped pendants. Whether those were one-piece hairpins or the ones having three parts they consisted of small plates of different shape with necklaces and pendants. Hairpins "gronæe" and triangular earings "mamlije", were worn above the right ear, pinned into kerchief or hair.Those having three parts joined with "skopèalcima" (neckleses) were worn either at the back of the head or on the breast.
The necklaces of a closed type were in fact the strings of nonsymmetrically cut mother-of-pearl, of different- sized coins and strings of amber.
Bracelets were of open and closed type. The former are "medenjaèe", with massive, expanded, round-curved ending with two symmetrical conical rosettes. The mean is decorated with “kaneluri”, enamel, cross, etc. A unique collection of silver and silver-plated bracelets of closed shape which consist of rectangular and square-cast framed small plates (5-11), with stylized vegetative ornaments. This collection includes the bracelets made of two ornamental rectangular plates joined with a necklace.
Rings are considered to be a unique collection of jewerly characterized by various types of rings of different purposes. The most widely used ring was so called "medenjak", with very large massive head made of either bronze or silver cast, granulated, rarely enameled which was worn in the 17th and 18th century as a status symbol. In the 19th century it was used as a wedding ring.
“Ahat” ring belongs to the type of “stolovat” rings. It is characterized by the precious stone “karneol” or “ahat” and is one of the most beautiful bridal rings. It should be emphasized that filigranee silver rings which were threated delicately, consisted of skilfully-shaped head covered with granules and decorated with tightened in particolored glass paste, or precious stones.
The portrait of Hadzi Jovanka Minovic, painted by an unknown painter 1942. g.
