Kazakh Female Rings in Ethnographic Collections of St. Petersburg: Classification, Local Complexes, and Ritual Functions

Abstract

Kazakh jewellery has long attracted the attention of scholars; however, there are few research papers that consider such museum collections. The present paper provides a detailed analysis of the collections of Kazakh female rings from the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, RAS, and the RussianMuseum of Ethnography. The research focus is placed on the design features of local complexes, which allows to present the museum collections as an ethnographic source to a broad scientific audience. Based on their own field materials, the authors describe the distinctive features of the signifying functions of rings in modern culture.