Asyk Turkomen Turkmen filigree brass and silver pendant with a red cabochon in the center beaded with genuine garnet gemstone beads and faceted brass beads handmade ethnic tribal necklace.

6 rows of beaded genuine garnet gemstones and brass beads.

The shorter inner row is 19”

The longest outer row of larger garnet beads is 23”

This is a large silver and brass fillgree Asyk Turkomen pendant measuring 3” in height by 2” in width with a beautiful red cabochon in the center.

The variety Garnet gemstones range from 3mm to 6mm.

The brass beads are 2mm to 5mm.

Worn by the Turkoman peoples of Central Asia, the asyk is an imposing adornment which is suspended from the hair by use of plaits as a back ornament.

There are many sizes and decorative styles, all of them incorporate a symbol which to the Western eye is a heart, although it is more likely to represent the protective head of a spear. However the exact Historical symbolic significance is lost in time.

Different tribal groups in the region adorn their Asyk by different techniques.

Garnet is the birthstone for January and the stone that celebrates the 2nd anniversary of marriage. The name “garnet” comes from the Latin word “Garanatus,” meaning “seedlike,” in reference to a pomegranate. This reference makes sense as small garnets look like the bright red seeds you find inside in a pomegranate. The garnet has been a popular gem throughout history. Garnets were found as beads in a necklace worn by a young man in a grave that dates back to 3000 B.C. This is proof of the hardness and durability of the stone.

A semi-nomadic people, the various Turkmen tribes often came into contact with urban population centers in the Middle East. Turkmen jewelers benefited from these exchanges, which allowed knowledge of jewel-crafting to spread to the Turkmen. Turkmen Jewelry is not homogeneous, as major variations existed between the artisans of the different Turkmen tribes. Silver set with precious stones became the most widely produced variant of Turkmen Jewelry. Turkmen tradition holds that precious stones are beneficial to human health, and many Turkmen tribes believed jewels to possess magical powers.