In Odesa, jewelry masterpieces of Turkmen heritage from the 19th and 20th centuries have been digitized
In Odesa, jewelry masterpieces of Turkmen heritage from the 19th and 20th centuries have been digitized
Thanks to the latest Gaussian Splatting visualization, it was possible to digitize a museum jewelry collection that was almost impossible to scan just a few years ago.
In Odesa, with the support of the House of Europe, a six-month project for the digital preservation of a collection of Turkmen jewelry from the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, housed in the O. V. Bleshchunov Museum of Personal Collections, has been completed. The Pixelated Realities team, in partnership with the museum, created an online catalog of 32 unique items of traditional women’s clothing and ritual life: children’s amulets, sewn-on and pendant ritual jewelry, and obligatory everyday charms. Some of them went out of use at the beginning of the last century.
In the process of preparing the catalog, the museum objects were further researched and attributed, and terminology was developed. For each of them, an accompanying annotation in Ukrainian and English was prepared, containing the original name, information about tribal origin, material and technique of execution, as well as the purpose of the charm and its method of use. The achieved results will form the basis for creating a printed version of the catalog of Central Asian jewelry.
The collection covers a wide range of decorative forms and jewelry techniques: from tiny children’s amulets measuring 2 centimeters to mobile wedding decorations over 50 cm long with many pendants and decorative elements. In the traditional Turkmen costume, these items performed not only an aesthetic but also a sacred-protective function, being an important element of tribal rituals.
The items are made of silver, copper alloys, and decorated with carnelian, turquoise, and colored glass. The surface of the vast majority of the items is abundantly covered with engraved and openwork ornaments, and the larger decorations consist of numerous moving elements. Their decorativeness and fine execution technique create a special challenge for digitization—reflections on the metal, transparent inserts, moving pendants, and chains place high technical demands on the scanning process.
Digitization Technologies:
The project was implemented using modern equipment and innovative methods:
* Photogrammetry with a full-frame camera and two types of lenses (35 mm and 105 mm macro), which was used to preserve the color and micro-details of the surface;
* Cross-polarized light (Xpol) to avoid reflections and increase surface detail;
* Linear lighting to obtain the most natural color textures and roughness maps;
* To stabilize thin and moving objects, the team developed special solutions: from using museum wax to frame structures made of transparent plexiglass for large objects.
* Gaussian Splatting — an advanced technology that allows objects to be represented realistically in a web browser, preserving their light characteristics, such as illumination, shininess, and transparency.
* Polycam platform — this is an advanced tool for quickly creating, editing, and sharing high-quality 3D models of objects and spaces using LiDAR, photogrammetry, and Gaussian Splatting. Their Backup Ukraine project gave Ukrainians free access to Polycam, promoting the digital preservation of cultural heritage at risk due to the war through 3D documentation of monuments.
* Shining 3D Pro HD structured light 3D scanner, which allowed for the preservation of the complex geometry of objects with high accuracy. The scanner was involved thanks to cooperation with the team of the Odesa National Art Museum.
Challenges and Solutions
Among the biggest difficulties were scanning thin metal plates with stones that reflect light, and massive pendant decorations with moving parts. Fixation during shooting required precise equipment and mounting, and 16-bit markers from the Reality Capture program were used for marking. The Pixelated Realities NGO team worked for the first time with objects of such different sizes and constructions, from a small button to a massive half-meter decoration. For each category, they had to invent their own methods.
Availability and Scientific Significance
As a result, three-dimensional models were created in OBJ, FBX, and Gaussian Splat formats. The Odesa Museum of Private Collections of Bleschunov plans to upload the objects to the Register of the Museum Fund of Ukraine and Europeana, which will ensure accessibility for both researchers and the general public.
For scientific work, this opens up new possibilities: the objects are no longer limited to study only in museum halls but become available online—to students, restorers, and scientists around the world.
The digitization of unique Turkmen heritage enhances international collaboration—as the created 3D models will be used in the XRculture project, which aims to preserve and popularize European cultural heritage. In particular, the lessons learned and findings will form the basis of an XR scenario for endangered cultural heritage. Learn more in Ukrainian on our blog.
This project, among other things, will demonstrate the role of Ukrainian museums in the global trend where cultural heritage is preserved not only in physical but also in digital form, which corresponds to European and world standards of digital transformation of the cultural sector.
The methodology for digitizing shiny and transparent objects developed during this scanning will form the basis of training materials for 3D-4CH — the Online Digital Competence Center for Cultural Heritage. Learn more in Ukrainian on our blog.
The project was carried out with the support of the House of Europe program, which financed 19,000 euros for technical equipment and digitization.
Among the available models
Gulyaka (Turkmen: gülẏaka) 1930-40s. Gulyaka (from Turkmen – flower on the collar) is an everyday decoration for Turkmen women, and from the beginning of the 20th century, for girls as well. By origin, the gulyaka relates to the ancient solar cult. It is a symbol of benevolence and happiness. For centuries, it was a traditional amulet of the western and northern Yomut tribes, and in the first half of the 20th century, it spread throughout Turkmenistan.
Changa (Turkmen: çanga) (late 19th – early 20th century). Changa is a wedding and festive women’s decoration that serves as a clasp for the “chabyt” (çabyt) robe. It is sewn onto wide strips of fabric along with stamped “chapraz” (çapraz) plaques, which ascend to it in rows.
Bilezik (Turkmen: bilezik) (bracelet, 19th — early 20th century). Bilezik (from Turkmen – bracelet) is a traditional everyday amulet-decoration for women of all ages of all Turkmen tribes. The bracelets were always paired, one on each arm. They had from one to eight rows, the largest reaching the elbow and imitating armor bracers. Each pair was custom-made for a specific wrist size.
Gupba (Turkmen: gupba) (late 19th – early 20th century). Gupba (Turkmen: gupba – dome) is the first, most common, decoration of a Turkmen girl, which she wore until her wedding. It was sewn as a finial on the takhya (tahýa) cap. It has the shape of a small dome with a tube for owl, eagle-owl, or falcon feathers, which served as a charm. An empty tube meant that the girl was betrothed.
Appasy (Turkmen: appasy) 1930-40s. Appasy are amulet-decorations in the form of drop-shaped plaques, used on special festive days by representatives of all Turkmen tribes. The plates were sewn onto the traditional keteni (keteni) dress separately from each other according to a special scale-like pattern.
Button from a coin (late 19th – early 20th century). The button is made from an Iranian 50 dinar coin of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (1831 – 1896), which was minted by Iran and Austria in the period 1876 – 1888.
Tumar (Turkmen: tumar) amulet-pendant, late 19th – early 20th century). Tumar/tumor (from Turkmen – amulet) is a case for storing spells, magical herbs, and enchanted natural materials. With the advent of Islam, a rolled-up piece of paper with sayings from the Quran began to be placed inside. The tumar is one of the first charms of a child, and later it was used regardless of age.
Children’s amulet (late 19th — early 20th century). The amulet was made from a 1 tenga coin of Khorezm, which was minted in 1888 during the reign of Mohammad Rahim-khan II (1864-1910).