Since the second half of the 19th century, craftsmen have been making cross pendants with a branchy shape. The crosses were strung on a cord between beads of Venetian glass (“painted patsyorky”), coral, artificial coral (smalt), amber, garnet, carnelian, or other materials. Such zgardas consisted of 1 to 5 or 7 strings.

The formation of zgardas as chest amulets went through a long developmental path, initiated by the pagan tradition, as zgardas had a powerful amuletic effect.

A characteristic feature of zgarda pendants was the inscription of an equilateral cross with four small circles and a six-petal rosette between the shoulders into the circle of their disks. These cross-shaped motifs, being of pre-Christian origin, were solar signs.  After all, the sun symbol was an emblem of well-being and prosperity for the population of the Ukrainian Carpathians, who retained many magical beliefs. In those distant times, the sun symbol was widely used as a talisman. That is why various interpretations of the solar symbol were so often used by Hutsul craftsmen in decorating jewelry.

But gradually, step by step, the disk-shaped solar signs in zgardas acquired a cross-shaped form. Sun-like disks were replaced by crosses with equal branches, the gaps between which were filled with rays. The crosses usually had the same shape and size. Over time, the crosses lost their one-dimensionality: one of the branches became longer and the cross acquired features specific to the Christian iconic form. It was on crosses of this type that relief crucifixes appeared, with features of primitive plastic. But even these purely Christian crosses still have many remnants of pagan symbolism. For example, at the end of the branches of these crosses we sometimes see solar rosettes or little circles.

Later, however, crosses on Hutsul chest ornaments turned from complementary to essential elements, transforming “patsyorky” (pierced with kryzhyky) into zgardas, expensive cross chest ornaments that, along with Venetian and coral beads, forties and shelests, became a sign of “estate” for their owners.

A necklace made of one or more rows of coins pierced with a lace, chain, Venetian glass, or coral is often referred to as a zgarda. The Hutsuls called this jewelry “talars”, “ dukachs”, or “forties”, although it really resembles zgardas with round pendants. Precious metal coins from Austria-Hungary, Poland, Romania, Italy, and Russia were used to make the necklace. Wealthy Hutsul women had 3, sometimes 4 rows of such a necklace made of silver coins sparkling on their chests. 

After the spread of Soviet rule in western Ukraine at the beginning of World War II, the production of zgardas almost completely ceased. Only individual metalworkers who created unique author's metalwork in the style of traditional Ukrainian jewelry were allowed to deviate from the general Soviet trends. 

In the 21st century, the revival of ancient traditions began and zgarda jewelry gained new popularity. Modern craftsmen, using ancient casting technology, produce a large number of jewelry stylized as traditional zgardas, and jewelry designers develop unique author's collections of modern zgardas, reinterpreting ancient designs.

Zoriana Kuryliak

The photographs are from the collections of the Museum of Ethnography and Art Crafts in Lviv, the Josaphat Kobrynsky National Museum of Hutsulshchyna and Pokuttya in Kolomyia, the Ivano-Frankivsk Museum of Local Lore, and the Andrey Sheptytsky National Museum in Lviv.

Zgardas from the collections of the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv

Zgardas from the collections of the Ethnographic Museum in Krakow 

Archival photos of zgardas from open sources

Zgardas from Volodymyr Shukhevych's publication "Hutsulshchyna" 

Zgardas from Liubov Sukha's publication ‘Artistic Metalwork of Ukrainians of the Eastern Carpathians in the Second Half of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries’ (1959) 

Drawings of zgardas by Severin Obst from the publication “Views of Household Crafts. Metal Products of Villagers in Rus”