SCA Pelican Temporal Rings
for a Modern 12th
Century Rus Persona
Inspired by
12th
Century Bulgarian Bilyarskaya Duck Temporal Rings
INTRODUCTION
Historically, the Medieval Rus and their European
neighbors wore ornaments that denoted specific ethno-social markers. This project was intended to emulate that
cultural practice for a modern Rus Persona living in a fantasy Medieval
Kingdom. The design elements are thus based on the ethno-social markers of the
Society’s Noble Order of the Pelican; the Pelican in her piety, and the Goutte de Sang (Drop of Blood), while
recalling the design elements of the original 12th century articles.
INSPIRATION - Bulgarian
Bilyarskaya Duck Temporal Rings
In
Eastern Europe, and Northern and Central Asia, there is a cosmogonic story,
wherein the Creator is portrayed as a white гоголь <gogol, diving
duck>. The white gogol floats on
the primordial sea with his companion, a black gogol (Satanail).
The
white gogol commands the black gogol to dive deep into the sea and bring back a
lump of mud. The mud is the “seed of the Earth”, and is spread upon the waters to
become the earthly world.
There
are numerous variations of this world creation story. Sometimes, instead of the
two gogols there are three primal figures, and sometimes there is only one. In some
stories, the primal figures are something other than a duck, but typically, one
is still a bird[1].
A
different creation story (Kalevala[2])
describes a duck laying 6 gold eggs which transform into the earth, the water,
the air, the sun, the moon and the stars.
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FIG 1: Temporal ring with a bird figure.
Ostensibly XII
century.
Bilyarskaya - Volga
Bulgarian design
Mokryye Kurnali
Tatarstan, Alekseevsky
District, Russia.
|
It
could be said that this Bulgarian temporal ring is adorned not only with the
powerful cosmogonic central figure of the duck carrying the ball of mud in its
beak, but additionally, the three beads on the ring and the three suspended on
chains below, could symbolize the 6 gold eggs of the creation story.
It
has also been suggested that the duck, which flies in the sky, walks on the
earth, and swims in the water is a symbol of the world in the three elements; the
firmament, the earth, and the depths of the water, and that these are the
symbols displayed by the three beads on the ring and the three pendant beads.[3]
 |
FIG 2: Temporal Ring with Bird Figure.
XII Century
The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan
Tatarstan, Russia
|
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FIG 3: Set of Temporal Rings with bilyarskaya
golden duck –
Ostensibly XII
Century
Treasure from the
Samara Luka
Stavropolsky
District, Samara Oblast, Russia
"Samara
Regional Museum of Local History. P.V. Alabina"
KP-26703 / 1, 2
|
THE MAKE
In the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA, Society), it is conceivable for a creation story to begin with the Pelican. She who worked tirelessly and joyfully to bring together the three original Peerages and eventually also the Royal Peers of the Society.
The Pelican in her Piety is an ancient symbol of self-sacrifice and charity. She is the Society’s symbol of peerage level service. Individuals whose actions are deemed the quintessence of service, grace, and joy, are recognized by the Kings and Queens of all of the Known World Kingdoms, with Royal invitation to become a Peer and join The Noble Order of the Pelican.
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FIG 4: Pelican in her Piety
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______________________________________
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FIG 5: Old Silver Earrings
with pendant pearls and set turquoise
stones
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|
|
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FIG 6: Old Silver with Gold-wash
Beads
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Additional
materials needed:
§ Heavy wire for the ring,
§ Thin twisted wire, for the neck and attachments,
§ Chain,
§ Bead caps,
§ Tiny spiral spacer beads,
§ Two types of small beads to plug the holes on the
largest beads,
§ Beads and four prong bead caps for the heads,
§ Red garnets (symbolizing blood drops) to replace the
turquoise stones.
§ Red Glass “Drop” Beads
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FIG 7: Building the Pelican
Temporal Rings
Process Picture – Body Build
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FIG 8: Building the Pelican
Temporal Rings
Process Picture – Head Build
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FIG 9: Building the Pelican
Temporal Rings
Process Picture – Ready for Garnets
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Several sets of different sized garnets were ordered and tested, none of which fit the gem settings. Finally, Casting Epoxy Enamel Resin and a transparent red coloring agent were ordered, mixed up, and used to simulate gems. Tiny drops were also added to the settings near the feet area.
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FIG 10: Building the Pelican
Temporal Rings
Process Picture – Epoxy simulating Blood Garnets
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Instead of a bead in the mouth, a red glass “drop” bead symbolizing the An Tir Goutte de Sang is hung from the beak.
 |
FIG 11: Building the Pelican
Temporal Rings
Process Picture – Red Glass “Drop” Bead in Beak
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CONCLUSION
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FIG 13: Golden Duck Temporal Rings
As worn by
Women near the temple
Rudenko K.A. -
Bulgarian Gold - Filigree Temporal Suspensions
Pages 113 and 103 |
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FIG 14: Wearing the Pelican
Temporal Rings
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
NOTE: Not every source speaks directly about the Duck
Temporal Rings, but every source has at least one or more images of them.
Aleksandrovna Shalina Marina. "One
day in Kazan" Journal Entry. "Samizdat"
at the Moshkov Library 24 June 2011.
Belavin A.M. “Gold Temporal Rings with a
Small Duck from the Perm Cis-Urals.” Povolzhskaya
Arkheologiya (The Volga River Region
Archaeology) Vol.2 (16) 2016: Pages 260-269 http://archaeologie.pro/en/archive/16/287/
Donina L.N., Suslova S.V. (Kazan, Russian
Federation). “Technical and Technological Features of Kazan-Tatar Filigree:
Retrospective Ethnic-Archeological Analysis.” Povolzhskaya Arkheologiya (The
Volga River Region Archaeology) Vol.4 (22) 2017: Pages 222-235 http://archaeologie.pro/en/archive/22/417/
Faizrakhmanova Guzel. "Ibn Fadlan's
Journey": unique exhibits and Soviet stamps : The advantages and
disadvantages of a large-scale exhibition in the Kazan Kremlin Museum-Preserve”
BUSINESS ELECTRONIC NEWSPAPER OF
TATARSTAN. 26 Feb. 2106.
Fakhrutdinov R.R. (editor) “VOLGA BULGARIA” The
Electronic Atlas of the Republic of Tatarstan
“GOLDEN TEMPLE PENDANTS.” Ministry of
Culture Republic of Tatarstan : NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE REPUBLIC OF TATARSTAN.
Igor (Vyatka, Russia), “Creation of the
universe. Part II. Birds of heaven : Tatars” Consciousness and Personality: from the inevitably dead to the
eternally alive Symbolism and mythology 28 Jun.2018
Khakimov Iskander (Editor) with staff of
the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan. “Tatarology :
Volga Bulgaria”.
Kokorina N.A., Kuzminykh S.V. “Volga-Kamskaya
Bulgaria” ENCYCLOPEDIA at Knowledge.su.
Kokorina N.A., Kuzminykh S.V. “BULGARIA
VOLGA-KAMA” Great Russian Encyclopedia at
bigenc.ru.
Lönnrot Elias, Martin John (translator) The Kalevala : RUNE I. BIRTH OF WAINAMOINEN. Crawford (1888)
“Medieval History of Tatarstan.” Ministry
of Culture Republic of Tatarstan : NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE REPUBLIC OF
TATARSTAN.
Museums of Russia. “Temporal earrings
with ducks. Volga Bulgaria, 13th c. Middle Volga, Bulgars. Gold, granulate,
scan”
Nosovskiy G.V., Fomenko A.T. “Chapter
3-1. PROVIDES, THE FIRST KAABA WAS IN THE OLD TOWN BILLIAR, CLOSE TO KAZAN.” The Wonder of the World in Russia near
Kazan. AST Publisher, Astrel, 2013
Obydennikova Irina (Contact Guide) Excursion
National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan Picture 2
Reichshtat Anton. “"1 day - 1
exhibit": temporal ring” kazanreporter.ru
together with the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan. 12 Aug. 2017.
Rudenko K.A. NEW FIND OF GOLD ... Jewelry
craft of the Volga Bulgaria and the products of the Bulgarian circle -
metropolis and periphery. Karacharov K.G. Administrator. 24 Dec 2010.
Rudenko K.A. БУЛГАРСКОЕ ЗОЛОТО - ФИЛИГРАННЫЕ ВИСОЧНЫЕ ПОДВЕСКИ (Bulgarian Gold -
Filigree Temporal Suspensions). Ministry of Culture Republic of Tatarstan
Kazan 2011.
Rudenko Konstantin. Doctor of Historical
Sciences, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan “The Bulgarian "animal style"
of the 10th - early 13th century in decorative arts and crafts (Collection of
the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan). “Material for the forum
Animal Style in the Museums Collections - National Museum of the Republic of
Komi" 15 Jan. 2012. http://permianstyle.ru/publication/a_18/
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