Adyghe Golden Embroidery. Reissue of the album

For almost a quarter of the century in Adygea, the art album with legend from the Nart epic about Setenay–guasche, quotes of travelers of different epochs and illustrations of unique exhibits from the collection of the National Museum of the Republic of Adygea - gold embroidery items of the 19-20 centuries, has visually told about the Adyghes (Circassians gold embroidery, oldest craft – art of the Adyghe people. The first edition, which openly proclaimed the beginning of the renaissance of gold embroidery art in the region, was published in Maykop in 1998 in Russian and English. The appearance of this already historical edition, which has made a huge contribution to the revival of the folk craft in the republic, was made possible thanks to the researching of scientists of the Adygea Republican Institute for Humanitarian Studies named in honor of Tembot Kerashev, administrative support of the region's leadership and funding from the Republic of Adygea Ministry of Culture. And now, almost two and a half decades later, for the 100th anniversary of the Adygea statehood, the famous album was reissued with additions that reflected not only historical stages of the development of the RA National Museum collection and the craft itself, but also the brand status of the gold embroidery art of the Adyghes in Russia.
The first edition "The Golden embroidery art of t Adyghes (Circassians)" of 1998, prepared by the author Nuriet Teuchezh and the compilers Mariet Khabakhu, Susanna Unarokova, Asiet Kotseva, Ruslan Khanakhu, photographer Arkadiy Kirnos and translator S.Bevova, has served for many years as research and didactic material for students and scientists: ethnographers, art historians, culturologists, as well as a visual manual for teachers and schoolchildren. They taught and continue to teach with this book in children's art schools and in circles of cultural centers the peculiarities of Adyghe folk ornaments and the basic techniques of the Adyghes (Circassians) gold embroidery art/ Many of exhibits from the collection of the Republic of Adygea National Museum were reconstructed according to its illustrations by local gold embroiderers. And at all All-Russian and regional exhibitions of the works of masters of folk arts and crafts, this album has been presented with pride for years as a reference book of the master on gold embroidery. It is noteworthy the prologue of the edition notes the following: "The art album from the series "ADYGHEM IDYSHE TCHEN" - "PRICELESS HERITAGE OF THE ADYGHES" is dedicated to the gold embroidery of the Adyghes"
Certainly, the great interest in the art of gold embroidery in Adygea, the growth of which was also promoted by the famous album, predetermined the possibility of its reissue with additions. The second edition was prepared by the Republic of Adygea Ministry of Culture for the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Adygea statehood in 2021, printed with 1000 copies and presented for the first time to young visitors of the RA National Museum on the 23-rd June of 2022, the Circassian woman Day or Setenay-Guasche Day, which local craftswomen consider as the Day of the Adyghe Gold Embroidery Art. This time the book was compiled by the author of the introductory article, researcher of gold embroidery art of the Adyghes (Circassians), c.h.s. N.K.Teuchezh. The employees of the RA National Museum S.I. Tsey, A.A. Kotseva, M.G.Khuako participated in selection of the items presented in it. The album's illustrations were prepared by photographer V.T. Yaktshtes. And it was translated in the Adyghe language by c.ph.s. B.A. Tsey and in English by c.ph.s, Z.S.Khabekirova and c.ph.s S.K.Kubashicheva.
Reissued for the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Adygea statehood, the art album retains the original appearance of the first edition, but was significantly expanded in its textual and illustrative contents. And such a large addition is justified and caused by the fact that since 1998 the gold embroidery art of the Adyghes has not just been revived and is preserved, but it is actively developed by local craftswomen and is quickly popularized among the young people. In the second edition, a significant place is occupied by the introductory article "Gold embroidery of the Adyghes (Circassians): historical and ethnographic aspects", translated in Adyghe and English languages. The author of the article expanded the original text of the first edition to include interesting information from the Reports of the Society for the Study of the Adyghe autonomous oblast for 1925-1926 and from her own research works published in the period since 2001 to 2021. It is worth to note that thanks to the scientific research of N.K.Teuchezh, the gold embroidery of the Adyghes was recognized in 2005 by the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Russian Academy of Sciences as the gold embroidery art of the Adyghe people.
In the introductory article to the art album, much attention is paid to the clear definition of the gold embroidery art of the Adyghes (Circassians), which became thanks to its development a cultural and tourist brand of the Republic of Adygea in the 20-th century, and entered in the TOP-1000 of local cultural brands of Russia on the All-Russian portal "Living Heritage" in 2021. It also describes his well-known techniques: sewing "smooth", "in-crepe", braiding, weaving, and presents the classification of Adyghe ornaments. A significant addition was  history of the unique collection of the Republic of Adygea National Museum, consisting of the 19 – 21 centuries items, which can rightfully be considered as model examples of the gold embroidery art of the Adyghes.
In addition, N.K.Teuchezh reflected in her article historical epochs of the craft's existence over 100 years (1922-2022): from oblivion through revival and study to development and promotion. She also presented a galaxy of modern craftswomen who not only preserve the techniques and teach them, but also master new directions of their application in design of modern clothing, creation of textile paintings and production of handmade national souvenirs. Illustrations of their items are visually presented in the album section "Modern gold embroidery art".
We can say the "highlight" of the second edition is the list of illustrations with detailed descriptions of gold embroidery items in three languages. Such visual and textual content is of great value for enriching the dictionary of gold embroidery art in Adyghe and English languages and will be useful for linguists and philologists when translating other publications on this topic. And this is thanks to the scrupulous work of the album's compiler N.K.Teuchezh and translators: in the Adyghe language - B.A. Tsey and in the English - Z.S.Khabekirova and S.K.Kubashicheva.
With the reissue of the first art album from the series "ADYGHEM IDYSHE TCHEN" - "PRICELESS HERITAGE OF THE ADYGHES", the new historical stage begins in development of the gold embroidery art of the Adyghe people as a cultural and tourist brand of the Republic of Adygea. Both the first book and the second edition with its informative additions, visual illustrations and detailed descriptions to them in three languages will be a great help for everyone who wants to learn about this ancient craft-art and its basic techniques, history of its development and revival in Adygea, and most importantly – about the unique collection of 19-21 centuries gold embroidery masters, stored in the funds of the Republic of Adygea National Museum. And let's hope that the second edition  - the "Adyghe (Circassian) Golden Embroidery " will be available to them at least through the network of libraries and cultural centers of the region, as well as in libraries of Russian major cities.