Artistic and Technological Features of the Soviet Openwork Filigree of Mstera

Soviet filigree art (folk filigree craft) is a poorly studied area in modern art history. In particular, the artistic, as well as technical and technological, merits of industrial filigree in Mstera (Vladimir region, Vyaznikovsky district) have hardly been studied, although some publications of the Soviet period published fragmentary information about the Mstera jewelry factory and its leading craftsmen. The interpretation of concepts such as artistic production culture, industrial design, design, and introduction of filigree jewelry into production continue to cause controversy among researchers. Therefore, their study requires the development of new approaches. Factory filigree technologies, which have become leading in folk art centers, demonstrate the great interest among Soviet jewelers in this traditional Russian technique. Exhibition-oriented works made in it appeared, distinguished by a high level of execution, as well as mass production, which required new artistic and production solutions. The introduction of the concept of “industrial openwork filigree” into scientific circulation is relevant in light of the evolution of traditional Russian folk crafts. In this article, the process of manufacturing openwork filigree in production conditions is studied and recreated for the first time in detail. The research methodological framework is based on experimental and technological approaches. The experimentally determined features of ornamental compositions in the openwork filigree technique, related to serial items of the Mstera factory, are also introduced into scientific circulation: the nature and thickness of the wire, the main motifs, artistic and compositional techniques. It is noted that the most variable compositions were characteristic of serially produced filigree tableware. Within the framework of the research, for the first-time questions are raised about the methods of reviving the traditional Russian art filigree technique in the folk jewelry production centers of the Soviet era, the plot and ornamental component of which has preserved the symbolism of the original Russian culture. The article allows to expand the understanding of the evolution of the art of openwork filigree at the Mstera art factory “Yuvelir”, the range of its products and their ornamentation, and this publication is intended to serve as a basis for continuing both theoretical and practical study of the topic.

1. Perfilieva I.Yu. Traditional Jewelry Centers Are in Crisis or in the Restructuring Today? Velikiy Ustyug, Krasnoye Selo, Narodnoe iskusstvo Rossii v sovremennoi kul’ture, XX—XXI vek: sbornik statei [Russian Folk Art in Contemporary Culture, 20th—21st Century: collected articles]. Moscow, Kollektsiya M Publ., 2003, pp. 165—189 (in Russ.).

2. Kantsedikas A.S. Traditions of Folk Art and Modern Culture, Narodnye khudozhestvennye promysly: teoriya i praktika: sbornik nauch. trudov k 50-letiyu Nauchno-issledovatel’skogo instituta khudozhestvennoi promyshlennosti [Folk Arts and Crafts: Theory and Practice: Collected Articles for the 50th Anniversary of the Research Institute of Art Industry]. Moscow, Tipografiya NIImash Publ., 1982, pp. 71—83 (in Russ.).

3. Orlovsky E.I. Izdeliya narodnykh khudozhestvennykh promyslov [Products of Folk Arts and Crafts]. Leningrad, Lenizdat Publ., 1974, 197 p.

4. Bardina R.A. Khudozhestvennye promysly Vladimirskoi oblasti [Art Crafts in the Vladimir Region]. Yaroslavl, Verkhne-Volzhskoe Knizhnoe Izdatel’stvo, 1975, 110 p.

5. Klebanova-Popovich E.P. Production and Filigree, Dekorativnoe iskusstvo SSSR [USSR Decorative Art], 1958, no. 1, pp. 25—29 (in Russ.).

6. Klebanova-Popovich E.P. Saving Glory of Russian Jewelry Art, Dekorativnoe iskusstvo SSSR [USSR Decorative Art], 1960, no. 2, pp. 24—26 (in Russ.).

7. Postnikova-Loseva M.M. Russkaya zolotaya i serebryanaya skan’ [Russian Gold and Silver Filigree]. Moscow, Iskusstvo Publ., 1981, 287 p.

8. Perfilieva I.Yu. Russkoe yuvelirnoe iskusstvo vtoroi poloviny XX v.: osnovnye khudozhestvennye tendentsii i napravleniya [Russian Jewelry Art of the Second Half of the 20th Century: Main Artistic Trends and Directions], Cand. art hist. sci. diss. abstr. Moscow, 2000, 28 p.

9. Valikov G.G. Kraski Mstery: ocherki [Colours of Mstera: Essays]. Moscow, KOIZ Publ., 1959, 77 p.

10. Popova O.S., Koroleva N.S., Chirkov D.A. et all. Narodnye khudozhestvennye promysly [Folk Arts and Crafts]. Moscow, Legkaya i Pishchevaya Promyshlennost’ Publ., 1984, 191 p.

11. Utkin P.I. The Problem of Replicating Products in Folk Arts and Crafts (to the Issue of Mechanization of the Production Process), Narodnye khudozhestvennye promysly: teoriya i praktika: sbornik nauch. trudov k 50-letiyu Nauchno-issledovatel’skogo instituta khudozhestvennoi promyshlennosti [Folk Arts and Crafts: Theory and Practice: Collected Articles for the 50th Anniversary of the Research Institute of Art Industry]. Moscow, Tipografiya NIImash Publ., 1982, pp. 119—128 (in Russ.).

12. Mikhailova S. Mass Production of New Samples, Dekorativnoe iskusstvo SSSR [USSR Decorative Art], 1961, no. 7 (44), p. 18 (in Russ.).

13. Utkina A.S. Krasnoselsky Filigree at the Turn of the Millennium (Late 1980s—2010s), Muzeinyi khronograf: sbornik statei i materialov sotrudnikov Kostromskogo muzeya-zapovednika [Museum Chronograph: collected articles and materials of the Kostroma Museum-Reserve staff]. Kostroma, DiAr Publ., 2014, issue 6, pp. 166—184 (in Russ.).

14. Dugina G.N., Pozdnyakova V.V. Iskusstvo Mstery: katalog ehkspozitsii Msterskogo khudozhestvennogo muzeya [The Art of Mstera: an exposition catalogue of the Mstera Art Museum]. Vladimir, Pokrova Publ., 1996, 229 p.

15. Kaplan N.I. Aesthetic Elements in Creativity of Masters and Artists of Modern Folk Arts and Crafts, Narodnye khudozhestvennye promysly: teoriya i praktika: sbornik nauch. trudov k 50-letiyu Nauchno-issledovatel’skogo instituta khudozhestvennoi promyshlennosti [Folk Arts and Crafts: Theory and Practice: Collected Articles for the 50th Anniversary of the Research Institute of Art Industry]. Moscow, Tipografiya NIImash Publ., 1982, pp. 84—91 (in Russ.).

16. Lyamin I.V. Khudozhestvennaya obrabotka metallov [Art Processing of Metals]. Moscow, Mashinostroenie Publ., 1984, 112 p.

17. Bardina R.A. Izdeliya narodnykh khudozhestvennykh promyslov i suveniry: tovarovedenie i organizatsiya torgovli: ucheb. posobie dlya prof.-tekhn. uchilishch [Products of Folk Arts and Crafts and Souvenirs: Merchandising and Trade Organization: textbook for vocational and technical schools]. Moscow, Vysshaya Shkola Publ., 1977, 311 p.

18. Chesnokov L.A. V mire uvlechenii [In a World of Hobbies]. Kiev, Reklama Publ., 1986, 93 p.

19. Kruglov S.I. Podstakanniki sovetskie, rossiiskie, zarubezhnye: katalog-opredelitel’ [Soviet, Russian and Foreign Cup Holders: a reference catalogue]. Moscow, Khobbi-Press Publ., 2012, 455 p.

20. Kaplan N.I., Mitlyanskaya T.B. Narodnye khudozhestvennye promysly: ucheb. posobie dlya sred. prof.-tekhn. uchilishch [Folk Arts and Crafts: textbook for secondary vocational and technical schools]. Moscow, Vysshaya Shkola Publ., 1980, 176 p.

21. Kudryashov E. Soviet Cup Holder, Antikvariat, predmety iskusstva i kollektsionirovaniya [Antiques, Art and Collectibles], 2005, no. 11 (32), pp. 32—37 (in Russ.).