Having recently returned from a trip to Laos, we wanted to showcase the beautiful tribal jewellery created by the talented Hmong silversmiths of the past. Antique Hmong silver jewellery was made using high content silver and is superior to the work being done today, including the fake Hmong jewellery found in markets and online.
The Hmong, (also known as Meo or Miao) are a strong willed hill tribe people thought to have originated in Southern China some 3,000 years ago. Today the Hmong are found throughout Southeast Asia, the result of significant migration provoked by persecution from the Chinese during the 18th and 19th centuries. The Hmong were the first hill tribe group to successfully cultivate opium and are known to be shrewd entrepreneurs. Despite the pressures to conform to life in the 21st century, ancient Hmong culture is proving robust to dissolution with much of their customs, traditions and beliefs remaining intact. While the opium poppy fields have largely been replaced with food crops and children are now often educated in local schools, most born into this distinct culture remain proudly Hmong.
The Hmong’s love of silver and silversmith skills are widely known and admired. In the past, households acquired as much silver as possible, and during New Year all the families’ silver came out on display. As the New Year approached, Hmong silversmiths would melt silver bars and old neckbands to repair jewellery and create new ornaments for the coming celebrations.
In the early part of last century, silver was often obtained through melting French silver coins. Silver jewellery was to the Hmong more than a mere decorative show of wealth, but also a representation of their spiritual beliefs. Silver neck rings with lock shaped pendants were given to children in the ‘naming ceremony’ to keep the restless soul from prematurely leaving the body.
Other common forms of jewellery worn by the Hmong include solid or hollow silver torques, flat or hollow bracelets with engraved designs, earrings in a variety of styles, and cone shaped rings often worn on every finger, as well as hairpins; some in the shape of the opium poppy. A single pair of silver earrings could take a master up to five days to complete and one mistake could ruin days of work. We’ve included a few images of antique Hmong jewellery acquired on our most recent trip to Laos and now available in the gallery. The last image is of one of the loveliest examples of Hmong silver work we’ve seen to date – a 19th century medicine box from Luang Prabang, where the Hmong have lived for centuries.
View Tribal Jewellery Collection
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