The Glass Pond Studio
     
   

The Tribal Collection

(Updated 11/12/2008)


The Tribal Collection pieces are part of someone’s history. Like the northern hills of Thailand, the northern mountains of central Asia are home to many nomadic people. They dress in bright colors and live in thatched houses. By trade many are metal craft workers. They melt down all types of metal, craft them into jewelry and use them within their tribe or sell them to the foreign market.
Many metals are melted and shaped into amulets or prayer boxes. Glass is melted down to fill holes or spaces in the pendant. A lot of the charms are used by Kuchi tribal belly dancers.

Lapis lazuli is a gemstone that is very common to central Asia and is crafted into many charms and pendants by the nomadic Kazak tribe. I enjoy taking the old pieces and reworking them into new designs. The pieces I have for sale are old, they are all imperfect in size and shape. Rounds are not round, squares are not square, some may even be missing stones or glass, and I will tell you if I have personally replaced any part of the piece.

They are all a mix of copper and brass and tin and silver. I have sold several of these and wear one myself and there does not appear to be any nickel in them that might cause an allergic reaction.

They are part of someone’s history, someone’s craft and it is the jewelry’s imperfection that I think makes them each so unique and beautiful.

Don’t hesitate to ask questions about the pieces. I hope you enjoy this collection

Click on images to enlarge.

Darya Kazak Blue

 This is another old set of Lapis pendants from Northern Asia. I have mixed them with newer Lapis Lazuli and Balinese silver. The clasp is another of the same pendant set. With the pendant drops, the necklace is 22" long.

$70

Kazak Amulet

 This Kazak tribe amulet is mixed with my green round lampworked beads and small red coral beads. Bali beads and a bali toggle finish this 18” necklace.

$65

Kazak Kazan Blue

 Another of the old Lapis pendants from Northern Asia. This is a single drop and has a single inlaid lapis clasp. I think these pendants are so beautiful. The metal is oxidised and not as shiny as it appears in the photo. I have mixed newer Lapis with Bali silver for this necklace. It is 20 " long.

$60

Kazak Lapis Charm

 This is a charm from the Kazak tribe of northern Afghanistan. I have mixed it with Balinese beads, red Mediterranean coral and four flat lapis stones.
The necklace is 19” long and closes with a bali toggle clasp.

$65

Kazak Sunrise

 This is an old Kazak amulet used most likely by belly dancers in the mountains of Northern Asia. I love these pendants. They are old and have so much character. This pendant is in its original form, but at the bottom I have added rolled green and red glass. The 25" necklace is strung in the same glass. I sold a similar necklace to a barrel racer in Texas! Her pendant was round like the Whirling Dervish but all blue. If you purchase this necklace to ride in, I would change the clasp to make it stronger. The present clasp is a simple bead loop.

$65

Kazak Tribal Traveler

 This necklace is made of lapis chunks and bali beads. It is also from the northern Afghanistan hills. A lapis charm is the center focal point. It has a hammered lapis stone S hook and a smaller lapis stone clasp.
The Kazak Tribal Traveler is 20” long.


Kuchi Dance

 The focal point of this pretty necklace is a Kuchi tribal pendant. It is inlaid with old Afghanistan Lapis Lazuli. The necklace is strung with sodalite and green Chinese turquoise rounds and Australian tigers'eye. The clasp and the S hook are also inlaid Lapis Lazuli.

$75

Kuchi Tribal Pendant

 Kuchi is another nomadic tribe of the northern Afghanistan hills.
An old triangular shaped pendant charm is the center of this necklace. The pendant is strung with Mediterranean Sea red branch coral and red glass beads have been added to the bottom of the pendant.
It is finished with my own coral branch toggle and clasp and is 20” long.

$80

Old World Kuchi

 This is really a beautiful pendant. I replaced 2 small glass stones and long ago, someone waxed in a broken piece of mirror, which I think is beautiful, even though it is imperfect in its size. I have added jasper drops to the bottom of the pendant and used sea coral, jasper and large Bali beads for the necklace. It closes with a sterling toggle and is 23” top to bottom.

$55

The Traveler Two

 The Traveler Two is a very pretty lapis necklace. The focal point of the piece is the Kazak pendant. The pendant is an old belly dancing piece from Afghanistan. Kazak tribal craftsmen melted all types of metal to create their designs. This pendant, most likely made in the 1930's, is probably melted tin, pewter, silver and copper. Those were the most popular metals used. I have added sterling bali silver to the beading.
The Traveler Two is 20" long and closes with a sterling bali toggle clasp. There is a pair of lapis earrings in the Birdcage Collections that would look nice with this.

$65

Turquoise Kuchi Stone

 This old pendant is melted metals, most likely brass, copper, tin and pewter. It is also from the north central area of Asia. I have added red sea coral to the bottom of the pendant and used green Chinese turquoise and Bali silver beads from Indonesia for the necklace. This pendant is very earthy and is such a beautiful example of metal craftsmanship in Asia during the 1950’s and 1960’s.
This piece is 21” top to bottom and closes with one of my handmade S hooks.

Whirling Dervish

 This pendant is from the mountains of northern Asia. The glass stones were set long ago in wax. I have replaced several missing stones with crystals and have set them in the traditional way, in wax. The base was probably made from melted tin and copper and brass. I have used Chinese lampwork beads, bali bead caps and purple Swarovski crystals to finish this necklace. Small jasper beads are used at the top of the pendant. The necklace is 26” long, including the pendant. It closes with a Karen Hill Tribe toggle clasp.

$70