THE SHEBEKE EXPERT

Since the ancient times, the jewelry making was one of the most developed areas of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan. Jewelry is not only an integral part of the clothing but for thousands of years various forms of jewelry have been a kind of a ritual tradition. Over time, they have gradually lost their primary function and have become a subject of art. Today, shebeke is considered to be the most popular type of jewelry among the fashionmongers. This is a unique type of the Azerbaijani national jewelry art combining open work filigree patterns made of gold or silver threads. Crafting shebeke products requires mastering not only the knowledge of traditions but also a great patience. Today, there are only a few shebeke artists working in Baku. Mehriban Sadikhova is one of such masters. Her works take place in private collections in the USA, France, UK, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other countries.

- Professionally, I am a teacher of primary school. After graduating the high school, I have decided to follow my mother Sona, who had worked a teacher for more than 40 years. For a long time, I have taught in the Humanities Lyceum of the Slavic University in Baku but I had always been interested in the traditions of Azerbaijani handicrafts: carpet weaving, embroidery, knitting, stamping. All the women in our family can knit and sew. For the whole of her life, my grandmother Tugra has knitted incredibly beautiful Tirma scarves. She had been buying the threads for openwork scarves at one of the shops at the former Basin Street. Her works were very popular in Bulbula village, where we lived. My uncles were düymechi – masters manufacturing sturdy belts, bags, and buttons. On my paternal side, we belong to the family of oilman and philanthropist Shamsi Asadullayev. There were unique items of great value and beauty at his house. There is even a half real famous story about this: Shamsi Asadullayev had had a rare golden dagger. When the Soviets had come to confiscate the belongings of this rich family, his son Mirza, unwilling to give the dagger, has thrown it into the water well of the family home in Amirjan village. It is been rumoured that during the Soviet times, almost every diver in Baku has descended into the well in search of this unique item. But all was in vain - nobody could find it...

- Were there jewelers in your family before? Or are you a kind of pioneer in this field? Where did you get an incentive for your passion that later has grown into a profession?

- That’s true. I am the first and so far the only one jeweler in our family. It all began with a gold ring, which I bought in one of the small shops in Baku. It was made as shebeke, so I liked it. Then, I wanted to learn how to do the very same beautiful ornaments. I have decided to find the master who made that ring. I have rummaged through almost all jewelry shops in Baku before I was told the name and address of the master. It took me a whole year to find this information! Master Vasif was a real professional manufacturing exclusive products made of precious metals. When I saw his incredibly beautiful and sophisticated works, I have decided to learn from him and even tried to persuade the master. It worked - he took me as his apprentice. But he had warned me that I will run out in two weeks since I would not bear this hard and difficult work. Nothing like that happened. Having learned all the tricks of my master, I had begun to work independently.

- What was the most difficult part of the learning process?

- Jewelry making is a rather intense, meticulous and monotonous work. Personally, for me the most difficult thing was to learn perseverance and patience. One also needs to get used to the caustic smell of different chemicals and acids. I remember, when I first saw how the "raw" gold looks like, I was very surprised. It was an ugly piece of metal almost as black as burnt wood, so unfamiliar to what we have always known about gold’s characteristics – glitz and luxury. Incidentally, the jewelry making includes many different specialties, and you need to constantly learn and explore new things. In our work, there are a few basic categories: modeling and design, molding, assembling, cutting, tacking of gems and engraving. The hardest part is the modeling. First, you need to think and come up with something not only beautiful and original but, above all, technically feasible.

- Do you remember your first job? What did it look like?

- It was an engagement ring made in filigree shebeke style. I remember when I brought it home to show to my parents, they were very surprised. During the whole time, I had been studying as an apprentice of Master Vasif. My mom and dad were sure that it was just another whim of their daughter, just a hobby. Then, they could not imagine that I was so seriously interested in this business, that I could even change my profession. Only after they saw my ring, they had realized that the jewelry was my thing and I was serious about my future work.

 - Mehriban, what is easier to work with: gold or silver?

- It is much easier to work with gold. Silver is sort of a moody metal, it has a different melting temperature. Many jewelers refuse to work with it but I. Generally, I like to work with silver. To make shebeke, one needs only high quality silver. Otherwise, you risk burning out the ornament.

 - Where do you buy raw materials?

- Here, in Baku. Ten years ago, it was difficult to find high-quality materials to work with but today the jewelers have choices and can purchase the best.

- What are the pros and cons of working a jeweler?

- Pros are that if the jeweler has a clientele, he can earn well. In addition, if you get pleasure from your work, it will always be a joy. A disadvantage is that you have to have a patience to sit for many hours doing the same dirty work. For example, before the jewelers had to use various solutions of hydrochloric and sulfuric acids for cleaning, hence the various diseases of the respiratory tract.

- Mehriban, almost all your works are in shebeke style. Tell us why you have chosen the filigree.

- In Soviet times, the shebeke jewelry was not as popular as it is today. Back in those days, the ladies preferred to melt old gold shebeke items in order to make ‘something modern’. Today, the old style fashion is popular again, and many women buy their earrings or pendants made in the old style. Shebeke is a work of art made manually. None of the state-of-art devices are technically capable of creating such beautiful items. As if these items are woven from the finest gold or silver lace. Quite a complicated technique in addition to the manual weaving, when each part is fixed to the other so that it is unnoticeable to the eye and not disintegrated. I believe that it is not even a craft, it is an art. Do you remember the movie "In the name of the law"? There the character of Najiba Malikova shows a necklace with an ornament "moon and stars", which is part of the famous series. This is not a fake: during the shooting, it had been taken from the museum. There is also the famous vase series "Day and Night" made of German silver, and which is stored at the home museum of H. Z. Taghiyev. I have remade these and many other historical decorations. The only way to master folk crafts is to stick to the principle of "see and repeat". So, the more such "stories" you know and study, the better. But jewelry making is also an art. In this case the best method for learning is to “see, repeat, and create”. What distinguishes an artisan from the artist? I think it is the desire to create freely. Not for sale, but for the soul.

 - Do you have to deal with problems in the course of your work?

- Most of the men jewelers treat me lightly. They believe that a woman cannot be a good master. Very often, I face discrimination and misunderstanding on their part. They are annoyed that I spend days sitting in my studio, working, and getting many orders. They think that a woman’s daily workplace is a kitchen where she has to prepare dinner. Such injustice often puts me out of temper, and sometimes I want to cry of resentment. Why does this happen and how to change this mentality? I do not know... Maybe in ten or twenty years more women jewelers will appear in Baku and this profession will not be a "non grata" profession for us. I would like to believe it ...

- What do you think should be done to further develop the jeweler's art in Azerbaijan?

- A couple of hundred years ago we had a heap of jewelers - masters Mammad Shafa, Hanifa, Mashadi Abdulkhalig, Asadullah, Naggash Huseyngulu and others. Their works are considered exemplary pieces of the national art, the pride and prestige of Azerbaijan, but we forget that at that time they were entrepreneurs, same as the goldsmiths in nowadays. Unfortunately, the jewelry industry today is not represented in the government departments. It is not even considered under the concept of culture - like a hundred years ago, it remains part of the business culture. I would not want to wait for another hundred years to see that the contribution of jewelers in our culture was finally appreciated. Our country has a great tradition of jewelry. Azerbaijani masters are very creative striving to create perfect compositions from jewelry, true pieces of art, which can also be attributed to the category of family relics. Therefore, it is necessary to develop this art, to support our jewelers and to help our artists organize various shows by exhibiting their works internationally.