Decorations and accessories of women’s costume of Mongolian nomads (by example of crafts items from the collection of the National Museum of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar)

Abstract

This article examines the artistic crafts from the collection of the National Museum of Mongolia, which served as important elements of the decoration of the women’s costume of the Mongolian nomads. These artefacts are analysed in the context of the ‘imperial’ culture, understood as the spiritual and material culture of the Great Mongol Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries.  This approach implies a certain commonality of typology and stylistic solution existing between different handicrafts, which emerged in the vast territory of Eurasia during the period. Their art-historical examination is carried out with the use of the findings from archaeological excavations and a number of important textual as well as iconographic sources. It is shown that, despite all the characteristics of the different types of costume garments, they have a number of features that align them with the artistic oeuvre of the Golden Horde, particularly with regard to shared typological features and the use of expensive materials.