Veliky Ustyug is famous for such an ancient and unique craft. This art of blackening on silver, is called northern niello. Today, the traditions of the craft are continued by the Veliky Ustyug plant «Northern niello».
Historical background
The Russian art of silver niello is quite old — over a thousand years. In the 10th century, it was widespread in all principalities, from Kyiv to Veliky Novgorod. This technique was born in the East — in Syria, Byzantium, Iran.
According to the chronicle, such work with silver was already practiced in Veliky Ustyug in 1683. The craft developed thanks to trade: trade routes were developed from Siberia to the Moscow Principality and abroad passed through Ustyug. As commerce grew, the city itself and its crafts flourished. Northern niello reached its greatest prosperity in the 18th century.
Silver niello was practiced by home-based craftsmen and artisans; there was no single enterprise. The secrets of craftsmanship were passed down from father to son within the family. All craftsmen were hereditary. In the 18th century, artisans created a school for teaching the art of metal niello.
In the 19th century, production began to decline. The main trade routes began to go through the Baltic with the foundation of St. Petersburg. The 20th century with its revolution and impoverishment of the people led to the fact that only one hereditary master remained in the city — Mikhail Pavlovich Chirkov. He was taught the craft by his grandfather — Mikhail Ivanovich Koshkov, a famous master of the 19th century from Veliky Ustyug, who carried out orders for Empress Maria Alexandrovna and Emperor Alexander III. Koshkov’s works were famous outside of Russia.
The grandfather taught his grandson for eight years. And Mikhail Pavlovich was the last master in Veliky Ustyug who knew the secrets of all stages of production. Now there are no such masters: the production process is divided into stages, and each master does only his own work.
It was difficult to continue blackening silver after 1917. The main customers were the church and merchants, with the advent of Soviet power, buyers vanished. Chirkov could take the secret of craftsmanship to the grave, or he could pass it on to the state. His choice was the second one – to pass it to the state.
Mikhail Ivanovich forwarded the samples of his work to Moscow and asked for financial support to restore the production. In 1929, after the allocation of funds, the export workshop «Severnaya Chern’» was launched. It employed six people only on request. The jewelry of this workshop was exported. However, the enterprise grew and in 1933 it became an artel. From this moment, the modern plant «Severnaya Chern’» traces its history. The artel carried out large government orders, expanded its range, improved the artistic level of its products and participated in international exhibitions. The first success came in 1937 at the international exhibition Expo-37 in Paris, where a large gold medal was awarded to a table set based on Pushkin’s poetry for the 100th anniversary of the poet. This was the work of Evstafy Pavlovich Shilnikovsky, the artistic director of the enterprise. In 1960, «Severnaya Chern’» received the status of a factory. And in 1973 it became a plant.
Production technology
The technology of silver blackening has hardly changed during its existence. Almost all stages of production are done manually, the basic techniques of old masters are observed and preserved.
The first stage of production is the molding of future jewelry blanks from silver plates. The machines are used only there to cut blanks from the plate.
Then the product is shaped according to the desired design. If assembly is required, the product is assembled and the necessary parts are soldered. They are soldered manually using a gas burner. Previously, instead of such a burner, they used a kettle with inserted wick, filled with kerosene.
Then the master transfers the desired pattern or ornament to the object. After this, the master engraver begins his work, manually cutting out the pattern conceived by the artist with a special chisel.
At the next stage, the pattern is filled with niello. Niello is a special alloy of dark gray metals, has been aged for two years. The silver product is covered with niello on a layer. The places that should not be painted are covered with clay. Then the product is burnt in the fire, the niello melts and fills all the holes made by the engraver.
Afterwards, the excess niello is scraped off so that only a clear pattern remains on the silver. And the last stage is polishing the product to a mirror shine, which is also done by hand.
Life of the craft today
Products of «Northern niello» have no analogues in the jewelry world today. The craft itself is the official brand of the Vologda region.
It is gratifying that the ancient jewelry business has not sunk into oblivion, but is alive and developing. It goes without saying, the main task is to preserve the traditional technology, to pass on to descendants the cultural code hidden in the plant ornaments and patterns of Ustyug silver products. The status of a folk art craft allows the plant to be competitive and work continuously, because it produces valuable exclusive products. The craft attracts attention to Veliky Ustyug and makes the city a popular tourist destination. In addition, the Russian government actively supports folk crafts in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, as well as the opportunity to participate in fairs and exhibitions. The legendary «Pushkin Collection» and the «Khmel’» coffee set can be called the company’s calling card. These sets have been loved for decades.
But the craft lives and yet, while preserving its essence, has been changing. New products appear, the forms of old products change, joint products with other enterprises, made in collaboration, are being developed and put on the market. The plant does not stand still but follows current trends within the framework of its tasks. And this allows the products to be in demand. After all, in order to survive, the products of «Severnaya Chern’» ought to be sold.
