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Kubachi silver is a metalwork tradition and artistic style of silver handicrafts from the village of Kubachi in today's Republic of Dagestan, Russian Federation.

Of the roughly 2,500 people who live in Kubachi, the silversmith industry employs some 300 masters. Today, Kubachi silver is partly also produced in other parts of Dagestan as well as in the regional capital Makhachkala.

Among many items, Kubachi silver includes swords, guns, bracelets, and caskets as well as tableware such as samovars, drinking vessels, and cutlery.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, Kubachi silver was normally adorned with gold and (or) niello. The traditional nielloed Kubachi silver received so-called high acclaim at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris. Since the middle of the 20th century, coloured enamel and semi-precious minerals, in particular turquoise, have also been used in Kubachi silver.

History
The origins of Kubachi silver arrived in the region with Persian traders around 2,000 years ago. In Persian chronicles of the 4th century, the village is called Zerihgeran or Zirihgheran ('armory'). The present-day name, Kubachi ('makers of weapons'), is of Turkish origins.

According to Fatima Gadzhalova and colleagues (2019), metalwork in Dagestan was 'largely promoted by the natural raw materials presence', more precisely wool, wood, stone, clay, and iron ore. Located along the trade routes between South Caucasus, the Near and Middle East, and Russia, Dagestan even had access to supplies of materials necessary for jewellery, copper minting, and so on.

In the 19th century, the Russian emperors and high nobility commissioned Kubachi silver, including decorated daggers. Emperor Alexander III gave his British counterpart Queen Victoria knives from Kubachi. Today, the Victoria and Albert Museum owns a Kubachi shasqa sword with sheet from c. 1850 and a Kubachi pistol from c. 1840.

Literature

 * Freidgeim, Lazar. 'Sterling Niello Drinking Horns of Kubachi'. ASCAS. https://www.ascasonline.org/articoloFEBBRA179.html
 * North, Anthony 1985. An Introduction to Islamic Arms London: HMSO.

Category:Islamic art Category:Russian handicrafts Category:Dagestan