The art of silver jewelry from the minorities of China in the context of the mythological and ritual complex
The article is devoted to the silver jewelry, the traditional craft from the minorities of China. The minorities of China (Miao, Yi, Li and many others) are an important and comparatively little studied part of the Chinese population. Their culture was persecuted during the era of the Communist “cultural revolution” in China, but today traditional forms of jewelry, decorative motifs and silver processing technologies are preserved and restored. Silversmithing of minorities of China has such types of products are characteristic, as wire hairbands such as the torque, which are worn several at once; they are hung with beads, amulets and bells. Traditions persist in the constant repetition of old motifs in new products: due to the lack of silver required for massive traditional festive dresses, old ornaments are remelted to make new ones. Tradition is not preserved in “museum” storage, but in the constant active re-creation of products. This form of dealing with the craft tradition requires constant updating of the mythological luggage of the minorities, its retelling and interpretation. Thus, the silversmithing of the minorities of China contributes not only to the preservation of the pictorial culture of ethnos, but also to the constant actualization of the ritual-mythological complex.