Traditions, craftsmanship and some magic: silk road collection by Silvia Furmanovich
Yes, you heard it right.
Tiny, exquisite, tactile carpets, rugs and textile pieces of immense beauty, adorned with diamonds, opals, sapphires, beryls, turquoise, tsavorites, peridots, citrines and pearls, transformed into the shapes resembling the windows of the magnificent Central Asian mosques and other ritual buildings, miniature paintings or tapestry, with painstakingly delicate details.
This is the new Silk Road Collection by an award-winning jeweler and hardcore enthusiast of travel, meeting people and immersing herself in tradition Silvia Furmanovich.
A magician of the jewelry art and an avid traveller, this time she directed her gaze—and trips—to the historical cities of Uzbekistan, which were once a part of the famous Silk Road: a centuries-old network of Eurasian trade routes, spanning over 4000 miles between China and the Roman Empire, playing a crucial role in the cultural, economic, political, religious, ideological and conceptual communication between the Eastermn and the Western worlds.
“Four men tossed a silk carpet into the air, and as it floated to the ground I envisioned a pair of earrings,” Silvia shared her impression of the unprecedented crafts she witnessed in the country.
Fitting more than one and a half thousand fine needle stitches and tiny knots within a drastically reduced surface—to make a single pair of earrings!—required the immense craftsmanship of the local artisans and the maximum power of persuasion from Silvia. A several metre-wide fabrique had to fit within just a few centimetres. Not just fit—but be perfectly and delicately dyed to flawlessly cover every spot and dot within the miniature surface.
To achieve this unusual perfection, Silvia met and talked to dozens of Uzbek silk weavers, fabric makers and vintage textile dealers and watched them work, exchanging ideas and getting inspiration from the colors and patterns, learning the ancient crafts and secret techniques, which at some point might vanish into oblivion—but will now be eternally and timelessly present in Silvia’s jewelry artworks.
After that, Silvia worked with the artisans in her hometown São Paulo: to embed those miniatures into unique pieces of jewelry. Apart from the traditional, delicate embroidery, the earrings, bracelets, clutch purses of the Silver Road collection include marquetry, bamboo weaving and tiny paintings, enclosed within the frames of gold and adorned with colorful gems.
The featured earrings have been inspired by the decorative, indigenous, hand-embroidered suzani technique, traditionally implemented with a cotton or a silk base, which is then embroidered on top.
Those tiny pieces of art are a reflection of the huge depths of tradition, mastery and creativity: all tied—or, in this case, knotted—together.
