The Museum of the History of the Resort City of Sochi exhibits an Adyghe silver women’s belt.

The silver women’s belt (in Adyghe — “tyzhyn bgyrypkh”) was created at the end of the 19th century. Such belts have always been an obligatory element of Circassian women’s festive clothes. The belt and the buckle were made of high-quality silver. Belts like this one were intended for girls and young women. The Adyghe women’s belt was not an obligatory part of a woman’s costume (in many cases it wasn’t even worn), and it could usually be found only in wealthy families.

Over a relatively short period from the late 19th to early 20th century, the Adyghe women’s belt underwent significant changes in design. The earliest forms included belts with leather straps and separate rectangular buckles, between which small round silver elements were strung. Such rare belts were known among the Adyghe from the 15th–16th centuries and were in use until the early 19th century. They were wide and fastened in front with a “bolt” that held the buckles together. The silver buckles were decorated with niello and engraving, featuring a restrained pattern typical of Adyghe jewelers. New forms of solid, wide buckles on women’s belts appeared in the mid-19th century: they fastened in a similar manner but had a notably different design. In most cases, they kept restrained patterns characteristic of Circassian craftsmen, all the while incorporating additions such as carnelian, turquoise, pearls, and other stones. As the 20th century approached, the buckles on Adyghe women’s belts became narrower and more elegant, being decorated not only with traditional niello and stones but also with intricate filigree.

From the early 20th century, Circassian women, like most women in the North Caucasus, started fancying belts with ornately shaped buckles, made entirely of metal. These belts usually consisted of nine fastened links and had an intricately shaped buckle. Leather or velvet belts also had buckles, but only ornately shaped ones.