somewhere in the heights of the northern caucasus – in the russian republic of dagestan – lies kubachi; a village with a mere three thousand souls, whose fate long has been determined by silver.
sabers, swords and hauberk from kubachi were highly in demand in the middle east in the XIIX century. later, silverware from kubachi, with its refined artistic decoration, turned out the be highly valued in tsarist russia and by the leaders of the ussr.
times change. the prospect of the current generation of masters – as the silversmiths here are called – meanwhile is far from prosperous. where costs of raw material chronically increase, demand for silverware from kubachi wanes without interruption.
due to the miserable economical situation a future as a master for many young kubachin is no longer as self-evident; many head for the city. yet a few remain faithful to kubachi; if not only to prevent knowledge and tradition from extinction…
