Carpentry and Bone Carving

Aleksandr says that the Kalmyks learnt to smoke from the Chinese. The Kalmyk pipe is made from the wood of fruit bearing trees such as the apricot, pear and cherry trees. Its metal parts are made from silver. Traditionally, every clan in Kalmykia had its own style of pipe engraved with the clan's symbol.

Aleksandr, however, uses decorations of his choosing on his pipes. He also uses iron and bones for some parts of the pipe. He makes pipe bags out of leather or cloth. Aleksandr has produced about 20 tobacco pipes so far, some of which are displayed at the National Museum of Kalmykia.

This video features Kalmyk carpentry and objects made from bone that were displayed at an exhibition held at the National Museum in Elista in April 2015.

Viktor says that in the past Kalmyks could produce everything that was used in nomadic life. He draws attention to the importance of setting up children’s studios to teach traditional crafts. He says his son does Florentine mosaic.

Viktor has been playing chess since childhood. He can carve chess pieces in 10 different ways or styles. The chess pieces that he shows in this video have been carved in a historically informed style from cow and sheep bones. In Kalmykia chess pieces have different names to what they are called in Europe. For example, the rook is called yurt, the bishop is the camel and the king is called the khan.

Another item that Viktor shows is a vase for incenses made from a cow bone.

In the beginning when Viktor was learning carving skills, he mainly used cow or pig bones. In high school he used a mammoth tusk for his carvings. His first works made from a mammoth tusk are called ‘the Kalmyk wrestling’ and ‘the Mother’s Song’ (1997). Another interesting bone that he used for his work is the tooth of a sperm whale that he bought in Tobol’sk.

Viktor shows the figure of the famous Khoshud monk Zaya Pandita. Since there are no pictures available of the historical Zaya Pandita, this figure is Viktor’s imagination of how the monk would have looked.

Over the years Viktor’s bone carving skills have been perfected. He talks about polishing techniques and instruments that he uses in his trade, including a wool cloth, sandpaper, a drilling machine, etc.

Recently Viktor started producing chests. He carves pieces and then glues them together. He shows a chest made from a mammoth tusk that he calls ‘Aranzal’ (a horse name). On another chest called ‘Elista’ a tulip is depicted.

Vladimir teaches bone and horn carving in a secondary school in Adyk village. He learnt this traditional craft from Viktor Sataev. The most widespread type of horns used in carving are those of cows or sheep. Compared to sheep, cows have soft horns that are easy to process. The Kalmyks usually do not use goat’s horn, because goats are rare in Kalmykia.

In the beginning a horn is put in warm water to get it rid of impurities. In water the horn becomes lighter in color. Then it is polished with sandpaper. In the past when sandpaper was not available, polishing was done with a stone. The finished product is covered with varnish to give it a shine. Objects made from horns are durable and do not lose their color.

Horns could be decorated with various ornaments, including geometrical, floral and zoomorphic patterns. These patterns are burnt on the surface of the horn with a special incinerator.

People make souvenirs, combs, spoons, toys and amulets from horns. In his classes Vladimir teaches his pupils how to carve tulips. In order to give it the form of a curved ‘petal’ the bone is bent by heating.