The National History Museum presents the exquisite jewelry craftsmanship of the Tsiprov goldsmiths in the "Palace" - Balchik

Today, 01.08.2022, in the Stone Hall of the "Palace" Architectural Park Complex - the city of Balchik, the exhibition of the National History Museum "Items of Luxury. Chiprov goldsmith school". Traditionally, during the summer months, the NIM visits the city of Balchik and presents to the residents and guests of the beautiful Black Sea city archaeological finds and impressive artifacts, part of the treasury of the largest museum institution in the country.

The present exhibition includes a large part of the works of the Chiprov goldsmith's school, owned and preserved by the National History Museum. Most of them are accidental finds from North-West Bulgaria, hidden as treasures and never sought by the inhabitants of the region fleeing from the dramatic events of the end of the XNUMXth century. The presented objects are predominantly secular in nature. All known types of jewelry skillfully crafted in local goldsmiths' studios are on display. Particularly characteristic are the earrings "arpalia", the earrings with silver plates "trepki", the richly decorated bracelets "kubelia" and, of course, the forehead decorations - bridal wreaths and prayer beads.

The infamous "Chiprov cups" - bowls decorated in a characteristic style, including rich plant ornaments and relief and volumetric images of animals and birds, are also part of the treasures presented in the exhibition. The exquisite gourd-shaped cups and handles shaped like dragons' heads are known only from the region of North-West Bulgaria and Eastern Serbia, which convincingly speaks of their belonging to the products of the Chiprov school. In the second half of the XNUMXth century, the so-called "Chiprov cups" - silver cups, many of which bear the designation "from the place of Kiprovtsi" as a guarantee of quality.

At the end of the exhibition, a copy of the golden treasure from Nessebar, dated to the second half of the XNUMXth - beginning of the XNUMXth century, is presented. Its characteristics refer it to the production of Central and Western European goldsmithing. Its display together with works of the Chiprov goldsmith school is not accidental. It allows visitors to visually get an idea of ​​the typical style of the people of Chiprov, in comparison with products of different geographical and stylistic origins.

The works of the Chiprov goldsmiths are extremely diverse - both ecclesiastical and secular products. The already mentioned "Chiprov glasses" are ordered and traded on the territory of the entire Balkan Peninsula. From the point of view of the artistic repertoire, the Chiprov master goldsmiths work within the framework of the late medieval Byzantine-Balkan tradition. However, in their characteristic and recognizable style, they skilfully interweave elements drawn from the West and the East - Turkish-Persian ornaments in the "Rumi" style, miniature late-Gothic architectural details, lavish baroque motifs. Their works reveal jewelry techniques mastered to perfection: forged relief, filigree and granulation, engraving and chiseling, niello technique, openwork, mercury gilding and silvering, inlay, filigree and incised enamel with dark blue and green glass.

The exhibition "Objects of luxury. "Chiprov goldsmith school" will be open to residents and guests of Balchik until September 13.09.2022, XNUMX.