Jewellery from Burgas Region

(Not shown exhibits from the collection of the Ethnographic Museum in Burgas)

Folk songs are sung about the beauty of the Bulgarian girl, comparing it to a "clear sun." But these songs suggest also what was the role of jewelry in her world.
In the song from the village of Podvis, near Karnobatsko a girl called "white Neda" admits:
Bulgarian:
"Ni ma glava boli, dzhanum,
nito kleto surtse, dzhanum,
shiika ma boli, dzhanum,
za zhulti altuni, dzhanum,
krustcheto ma boli, dzhanum,
za kovan kolanets, dzhanum.

English:
"My head doesn‘t hurt, djanum,
nor my miserable heart, djanum,
yet my neck hurts, djanum,
for yellow gold coins, djanum,
My waist hurt, djanum,
for a beutiful belt, djanum.“

In another song they sing about a girl who swept the yard and found "three grains of gold," put them in her apron and went to the bottom neighbourhood goldsmiths with specific requirements - to make her a forged necklace, a colourful necklace and a gold ring "but such as to amaze her fiancé“, and that he sighs, "What a lass, what a wonder!" ("Barem moma , barem chudo!")
Jewellery is the sign of aesthetic taste and rich imagination, well-being, a way to identify with the Bulgarian ethnicity and Christian faith. The
jewels carry the symbolism of popular beliefs and in this sense, they are not only jewellery, but also have magical features – keeping away the bad luck and ward off evil spirits.
Consistent with the forms of the human body and the structure of costume, jewellery can be divided on head, neck, chest, arms and waist.

Necklaces, chinstraps, fronthead jewellery, earrings, bracelets, rings, ... - the variety is amazing. Jewellery differs in its purpose and in the material from which it is made. In general, the maiden ornaments are more modest - mostly beads, as those of married women are made of metal (copper, brass, silver, gold).

Jewellery and costumes can show age, marital status and wealth. There is a great diversity of patterned on them, different geometric shapes, flowers, birds, stars, trees - the whole world around us.
This moths ethno fact isn‘t intended for detailed and comprehensive description of the jewellery from the Burgas region. It only presents interesting exhibits from the collection of the Ethnographic museum in Burgas. They had never been displayed before but are worth to be seen by more people.

"Pelesh" from the village Kozichino. A piece of black cloth, trimmed along with white and black beads sewn with Ottoman coins and ornaments. 1.8 m long by 5.2 cm in width.

„Kitka“ – a head jewellery in the form of two branches made of blue, white, red beads and colourful tassels, sewn with blue thread on a wire.


Chinstrap from Kozichino. Black and white beads are sewn on a narrow strip of fabric, as the black form rectangles and the white X-shaped ornaments, with bunches of red, white and black beads and three Ottoman coins on both sides.


"Kitka" head jewellery from Kozichino with beads and colourful woven ornaments. Length 12 cm.


"Kraishta"(en: edges) from Kozichino - Two narrow strips of red cotton fabric are decorated with one above the other coins, pendants of black and white beads, ending with blue, green and red cherry woven ornaments. This jewellery is been worn descends alongside the braids behind the back. Its length is 88 cm, width of the fabric strip - 1,5 cm.


Head jewellery made of beads from the village of Prohod. Colored beads are strung on a thread and then formed in shapes. There are hooks for fastening.


Wreath from the village of Vezenkovo


Bridal jewelry for the head - "stefanche" from the late 19th century.


Part of „titeritsi“ from the village of Rusokastro. Consists of four chains, one of which is attached to leaf-like pendants. At one side ends with round buckle in the form of an embossed brooch and at the other side - a small round flat clasp.


Chinstrap - 48 rectangular plates of copper, tin, zinc and silver with a little rhombus ornament in the middle. 48 cm


Bracelet - 17 plates engraved with a flower in the middle, are coupled to one another with 4 rings. Fastened with a hinge, sizes: 18.5 cm x 2.2 cm


Bronze bracelet from the village of Ognen.


Brass buckles - round, tapered at one end. Decorated with floral ornaments and headed eagle.


Bronze buckles - rectangular, decorated with blue and yellow enamel, with red and green glass stones.


Buckle of bronze and silver in the form of palmettos, from the village of Granichar donated on 21.12.1968 by Sheba Popov.


Belt buckle in the shape of Indian palmette with folds over edges, 20 cm


Buckles shaped as curly palmette. Length 17.8 cm


Belt buckle in the shape of curly Indian palmette. Depicts a bird with half-closed wings and head turned back, above them is the sun with human face. Size 10 cm


Belt Buckle with crosses from Lozengrad.


Rosica Topalova, Curator in Department Ethnography of Regional Museum Burgas