The craft
What the silver remembers
Dariganga
The silver in this shop follows the smiths of Dariganga, in Sükhbaatar aimag, in the east of Mongolia. Their work is known by the density of the wire, the smallness of the granules, and the way a plaque sits against cloth. Darkhchuud means the smiths. The name is the workshop, not a person.
Coral and turquoise
Шүр and оюу — coral and turquoise — are the two stones Mongolian silver is almost never without. Coral is the deep red. Turquoise is the blue-green that reads as sky. They are set in cups, not glued flat, so the stone stays a bead you could roll in the hand.
The endless knot
Улзы, the endless knot, turns back into itself. On a ring, a bowl, or a belt plaque it is a wish for continuity: that a household, a journey, or a promise does not break in the middle. You will see it more than once in the shop. That is deliberate.
Worn, and offered
Earrings, rings, bracelets, and hair ornaments are worn. A belt closes a deel. A хөөрөг, the snuff bottle, is offered to a guest before talk. A монгол аяга, the silver bowl, is held out with two hands. These last two are not jewellery in the narrow sense. They belong in the same case, because the same hands made them.