Kazakh Turkmen Asyk top pendant inset with Carnelian, carnelian beads, carved jade beads, and silver beads.

The large silver brass Kazakh Asyk pendant set with Carnelian, is the FoKal Point of this necklace. The Asyk pendant measures 2.5” in height by 1.50” in width. The beautiful carnelian cabochon in the center is 0.75" by 0.5". The length of the necklace is 20". The pendant is strung with carnelian barrel beads, vintage carved jade beads and silver beads.

Turkmen (Turkoman; Turcoman; Turkman) Jewelry top hails from a nomadic group of people who have lived for centuries in southwestern Central Asia and northeastern Iran. Located along the old Silk Road Trade Route that connects the East and the West, this region includes present-day Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and parts of Kazakhstan and Afghanistan.

The Aysk Pendant is worn by the Turkmen People of Central Asia, Asyk Pendants were usually incorporated in braided hair, or larger Asyk were worn as a back or pectoral ornament. These pendants were given to the Turkmen women as dowry gifts and were worn as a symbol of marriage and fertility.

This particular piece is from Kazakhstan and is breathtakingly beautiful. While similar in style and function to other Turkmen Jewelry, it is more delicate and finely made, with a distinctive repeating triangle design that is quintessentially Kazakh. Skillful jewelry artisans use the granulation technique to achieve this characteristic pattern, by purposefully fusing tiny pieces of silver onto the jewelry surface.