New Tribal Pendants Listed on Etsy!

Vintage Pashtun Silver Pendant: Carved Carnelian, Camel

Central Asian metal smiths have worked silver and other metals with exquisite artistry for centuries.  Painstakingly twisting, hammering, etching, soldering and finally, building finished pieces that remain in families for generations.  You will find examples of many different traditions that originate in this area at Sturee Tribal Village.  We also just listed about 30 new pendants in our Etsy shop, Afghan Tribal Arts.

Kazakh Vintage Pendant: Filigree over Glass.

Vintage Kuchi Silver Pendant: Seed Beads and Glass

Vintage Turkman Pendant: Gold Leaf and Black Onyx

These pendants are wonderful accent pieces.  Large, bold, and eye catching they finish off a simple outfit beautifully.  Visit our Etsy shop or Sturee Tribal Village for more wonderful treasures from Afghanistan and the region.

New Central Asian Textiles on Etsy!

Turkmen Ceremonial Vest for a Child

Afghan Tribal Arts has had an Etsy shop for awhile now, but only recently have we started to seriously stock it.  We're up to about 70 items now, working through a bin of textiles and beads.  It takes time to get things up there: photographing, editing the photos, writing up descriptions, but as the selection increases, the shop truly emerges as a place of beauty.  There is now a nice selection of beads and vintage tribal jewelry like the necklace below:

 Kuchi Necklace from Afghanistan

And, we have some nice textiles up and more to list.  For those of you who like to sew, you might be interested in the dress inserts like this one:

Salvaged nomadic dress yoke from Afghanistan.

Several tribes in Afghanistan share a basic dress pattern:  an ornamental yoke like the one above, with flowing bell sleeves and pleated skirt.  Matching "genie" pants finish the outfit.  The cuffs of both sleeves and pants are normally heavily embroidered to match the yoke.  As the cotton fabric wears out of the dress and pants, these embroidered pieces are salvaged and incorporated into new outfits, sometimes lasting through several generations.  These salvaged pieces have obvious interest in the textile community as they are often wonderful samples of intricate needlework.  The piece above, for example, is heavily embroidered with metallic thread.

We are friends with the people at Folkwear, a pattern company in Asheville, North Carolina.  They have a pattern for an Afghan dress that would work well with these yokes:

Folkwear Pattern for Afghan Dress

If you make one, make sure to send us a picture of you in it and we will post it on our blog!

Then, there are some beautiful beaded pieces that can also be incorporated into clothing or pillows or framed or.......  You will know what to do with them!

 Beaded Kuchi Accessory

The triangle is considered to be a powerful talisman against the evil eye all over Central Asia.  This beaded piece would be worn on a garment or even attached to animal trappings.  It is made of woven glass seed beads and then finished with twisted cotton threads.

Oh, there are many other beautiful things there and coming soon!  Do visit our shop and check back as we keep on listing more things in the upcoming weeks!  And, if you are familiar with what Afghan Tribal Arts and Sturee Tribal Village carry, feel free to leave comments with requests.  If we have it in stock, we will do our best to get it listed!

The Beauty of Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli from Afghanistan

by Abdul Wardak

Lapis lazuli has had a long, long history of being one of the most sought after stones in Central Asia.  In the Middle Ages, it was ground up and used as a pigment to paint on illuminated manuscripts.  In Ancient Egypt it was known as the "Blue Gold".  Cleopatra used it as make-up and it has been found in archeological sites as paint applied to walls.

Today, lapis is only found naturally in Afghanistan and Chile.  If you hear about a tiny little mine somewhere with a lapis vein, let us know.  We would love to hear about it!

Sturee Tribal Village carries a huge selection of lapis beads, all natural, hand carved and polished in various sheens.  Leather is often used as a finishing tool on these pieces.

 Hand carved lapis lazuli beads available at 

Sturee Tribal Village.

In the mid-1980's, lapis lazuli was over-mined in Afghanistan to generate income to the locals.  It was also used to finance the resistance against the Soviet Union's occupation. Lapis has also been a favorite stone used by tribal jewelers for centuries.  Sturee Tribal Village has a great selection of pendants, cuffs, rings and earrings, both old and new, representing many of the traditions of Central Asia.

 Tribal Pendants at Sturee Tribal Village

Visit or call us for more information on our selection of lapis lazuli beads and jewelry.

864-556-5101