Semyon Chernogradsky has been working with birch bark for more than thirty five years making both utilitarian household articles and decorative items. He learnt this craft from his mother, Maria Chernogradskaya, a well-known bark artist in Yakutia. Their works are part of the collections of Yakutia’s major museums.
The Bride’s Box. Enne Ihit was made by Semyon Chernogradsky in 2013. Traditionally, such boxes were part of a girl’s dowry and were used for keeping needlework accessories. They were handed down from mothers to daughters.
The box is made of birch bark. Crafts made from this material were of different shapes, most often round or oval. They had an insert bottom and a removable lid with a rim around the edge. The rim made the lid close tightly.
Boxes were richly decorated with ornaments in a variety of techniques, with the focus on the lid and the front of the box. The box on display is decorated with repeating patterns of diamonds and triangles, openwork and horsehair weaving.
Such items are mainly made from tree bark, a material that is valued for its flexibility and warm light shades. Most often craftsmen work with birch bark or larch bark. Horsehair ornamental patterns and stitching, openwork, embossing, and toning are used to accentuate the natural properties of the material.
Birch bark craft has been practiced in Yakutia since old times, but it reached its peak in the 19th century. It was during that period that simple utilitarian articles made from birch bark gave way to more decorative items, while birch bark craft developed into a creative art form.
This traditional craft is still popular today. Yakutia can boast the names of well-known bark artists, Chernogradsky being one of them. He was born in Yakutia in 1959, in the village of Eselyakh. For a long time, he worked in animal husbandry. But later he decided to continue the family craft and took serious interest in artistic processing of birch bark. He merges art, tradition and impeccable execution to achieve excellence in his works.
The Bride’s Box. Enne Ihit was made by Semyon Chernogradsky in 2013. Traditionally, such boxes were part of a girl’s dowry and were used for keeping needlework accessories. They were handed down from mothers to daughters.
The box is made of birch bark. Crafts made from this material were of different shapes, most often round or oval. They had an insert bottom and a removable lid with a rim around the edge. The rim made the lid close tightly.
Boxes were richly decorated with ornaments in a variety of techniques, with the focus on the lid and the front of the box. The box on display is decorated with repeating patterns of diamonds and triangles, openwork and horsehair weaving.
Such items are mainly made from tree bark, a material that is valued for its flexibility and warm light shades. Most often craftsmen work with birch bark or larch bark. Horsehair ornamental patterns and stitching, openwork, embossing, and toning are used to accentuate the natural properties of the material.
Birch bark craft has been practiced in Yakutia since old times, but it reached its peak in the 19th century. It was during that period that simple utilitarian articles made from birch bark gave way to more decorative items, while birch bark craft developed into a creative art form.
This traditional craft is still popular today. Yakutia can boast the names of well-known bark artists, Chernogradsky being one of them. He was born in Yakutia in 1959, in the village of Eselyakh. For a long time, he worked in animal husbandry. But later he decided to continue the family craft and took serious interest in artistic processing of birch bark. He merges art, tradition and impeccable execution to achieve excellence in his works.
