Jewelry in Popular Culture and Tradition

Suvremeno čitanje i isticanje likovnih osobina nakita različitih oblika, materijala i tehnika izrade određuju prvenstveno stilske osobine i kvalitetu umjetničkog izraza pojedinih predmeta. Takav pristup nakitu kao predmetima primijenjene umjetnosti često skriva imanentna, danas gotovo zaboravljena, značenja nakita. Još je značajnije što fascinacija zlatom kao materijalom, a potom pojedinim visokim umjetničkim i estetskim dosezima svjetske i nacionalnih baština, zasjenjuje ništa manje privlačan i zanimljiv pučki nakit i druge načine ukrašavanja. Pojmovi nakit i narodni nakit izrazi su kojima se, zapravo, istovrsni predmeti razvrstavaju u razred "visoke kulture" ili u tzv. "paralelnu povijest kulture". No, iako pučka materijalna baština, pa i nakit, ponekad oponaša, održava i prenosi naraštajima stilske oblike "visoke kulture" ona nije puki preslik jedinstvenog izvornika. Pridružimo li estetskim i umjetničkim dimenzijama nakita i one drugih humanističkih znanosti, slika različitosti između pojmova nakita i narodnog nakita postaje nam jasnija.The stylistic features and the quality of artistic expression of particular items have primarily been determined by contemporary comprehension and by giving emphasis to the fine art features of jewelry of different shapes, materials and craftsmanship techniques. Such an approach to jewelry as to an applied art often conceals its inherent, and today almost forgotten, meanings. It is even more important to point out that the fascination with gold as a material, as well as with some highly artistic and aesthetic achievements of the world’s and national heritages, seems to overshadow the folk jewelry that is not at all less attractive nor less important. The usage of the terms jewelry and folk jewelry leads to the classification of the items, that are actually the same, into the classes of “high culture” and the so-called “parallel history of culture”. However, although material popular heritage, which also implies jewelry, sometimes imitates, preserves and conveys through generations stylistic forms of “high culture”, it is not a mere copy of a unique original. If we join the aesthetic and artistic dimensions of jewelry with those of other humanities, the picture showing differences between the terms jewelry and folk jewelry becomes clearer