Reflexions of medieval West Asian enamel traditions in the jewellery art of Kievan Rus

Abstract

The main purpose of the study is to analyze the underlying principles of the development of hot enamel technology, which was a means of effectively revealing the artistic images in the works of medieval jewellers of Western Asia and their reflection in the works of goldsmiths of Kievan Rus. The hot enamel technique is a rather ancient method of combining coloured glass and metal. This technique became very popular in the jewellery art of the Middle Ages, including Kievan Rus, as it was directly related to the biblical description of the Heavenly Jerusalem. The apostle John the Theologian in his revelation constantly underlined the metallic («…» – and the city was pure gold – «…») and crystalline nature of the city («…» – like pure glass – «…») [4, p. 1344–1345]. The complex analysis of the relationships between the ancient Egyptian, Iranian and Iberian enamel art traditions allows us to clarify the influence of their centuries-old skills on the formation of Byzantine goldsmith’s art, which in its turn influenced the development of enamel art in the goldsmithing art of Kievan Rus.