Блеск и нищета бижутерии. Повседневные украшения в России и СССР, 1880–1980 годы - страница 4

On June 22,1941, Nazi Germany attacked the USSR. With the date a story of simple plastic beads is connected. One of our neighbors told me that on this day her father, who was a well-known scientist went as usual to work, but suddenly returned home. When his wife asked him, what was the matter, he answered: “To kiss you”. It was the last time that she saw him. He was arrested straight at work and died in prison. Since this day she wore only these black beads (ill. 78).

Needless to say, during the war the Soviet women had no time for jewelry. They fought at the front, worked at defense plants, or died of hunger in blockaded Leningrad. There was no sign of jewelry on the photos in the remaining women’s magazines. Only once in a caricature in “Crocodile” (№ 25, 1945) one could see beads on the neck of Goebbels’ secretary.

Despite all the difficulties of wartime the desire of girls to look attractive was ineradicable. This can be proved in a photo of a young peasant girl, made in the midst of war (1943) (ill. 79). Most probably, she took this attire from her mother’s dower chest to make the photo and send it to her friend.

Closer to the end of war parcels with foreign dresses and jewelry began to come to Russia more and more often. Furthermore in shops jewelry appeared made of bohemian garnets (ill. 80). For the first time Russian women had the opportunity to get something fashionable. Most in demand by them were short beads and brooches with transparent stones (ill. 83). No less fashionable were also necklaces of opaque white glass and braided strands of beads (ill. 84-85b).

After the war the Baltic States were joined on to USSR. There for a short time one could buy some foreign bijoux in the flea markets. So black wooden beads with flowers and plastic chain were bought in 1946-47 in the flea market in Riga (ill. 86-86a). Somewhat later our women began to bring national brooches – “sacta”, from Latvian resorts (ill. 86, 86a). In Kaliningrad (former Koenigsberg) amber factories began to work (ill. 87–88). Along with its mass production there were artisans, who made amber brooches with carved inside insects, lizards and even ships (ill. 88a).

At the factory in Kostino and in many small workshops the production of glass beads began again (ill. 89). Brooches in the form of spiders, butterflies, or baskets still remained extremely popular (ill. 90). But it was very difficult to buy such “valuables” and the majority had to be satisfied with primitive glass brooches (ill. 93a).

The attitude of the authorities to jewelry still remained negative, but became less aggressive. In the caricatures in “Crocodile” can be found a clear distinction between positive and negative persons. The moral degradation of the secretary, whose boss is advancing in employment, is followed by emergence of more and more jewelry (ill. 92). The employee who is constantly late for work wears not only a brooch, but also beads (ill. 93).

As always pearl necklaces remained the most popular (ill. 100,100a). There is a touching story about a former soldier and a young girl, who survived the blockade of Leningrad but completely lost her hair. They were a very affectionate couple, and once he bought her a pearl necklace. At that time the dresses of black velvet were in fashion. The wife had no such dress and decided to try the necklace on her black cat. The cat with the necklace ran away. Later it returned, but evidently without beads. She had fear that the husband will kill the cat, but he simply bought her another similar necklace. She wore it until her death, and the husband put it into her coffin.

In early 1960s after Stalin’s death in USSR foreign jewelry appeared for the first time. In Moscow several exhibitions of Czech glass took place (ill. 95). And after so many years of jewelry starvation our women saw the splendid examples of Czech beads, earrings, bracelets etc. Soon they appeared also in the shops. Elderly ladies liked imitations of garnets and transparent faceted beads (ill. 95). Young girls preferred so called “ fruit salad” beads and braids of beads (ill. 97–99). Imports from China and DDR also began (ill. 102,103).