Ruthenian kolts (temple-pendants) - the current state of research and research perspectives

Abstract

Kolts (singular kolt) are pendants attached to a woman’s headdress at the temples (30–60 mm in diameter), usually gold or silver, often decorated with granulation, fi ligree, enamels, or niello. We know round and star-shaped kolts; they consisted of two concave discs with a hollow space between, into which perfumes or scented oils were probably put. The pendants were usually decorated on both sides, since they could rotate as the woman walked. Golden kolts were decorated with delicate cloisonné enamel, a technique learned from Byzantine masters starting in the late 10th c. Silver kolts were decorated with niello. Absolute analogues have not been found among ancient ornaments of other countries, but many researchers compare kolts to Byzantine earrings from the 6th–7th c. Kolts, and more broadly, the jewellery of old Rus, present us with a number of research problems, which have been only partially solved in the current literature. Problems requiring solutions are: the origin of gold kolts (Byzantine or Ruthenian), the production technique and technology, symbolic representations and their social character. These issues are scattered in the existing literature. This article addresses the questions of the technique and technology of producing kolts. The existing literature describes two methods of making gold plates for kolts using a die. The author concludes that in fact there are several ways to make this type of ornament and probably various technologies were applied, but it is impossible to look inside each kolt to discover them. Having considered descriptions of production techniques in the current literature, she claims that the issue has not been exhausted in previous studies, therefore she readdresses it having researched 30 kolts from the collection of the Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine. Research progress and new fi nds are encouraging enough to take up this subject again. Not all the questions mentioned can be answered immediately because they require systematic and long-term studies. Kolts should be discussed in close connection with other pieces of jewellery.