Kubachi silver

According to Fatima Gadzhalova and colleagues (2019), metalwork in Dagestan was 'largely promoted by the natural raw materials presence', more precisely wool, wood, stone, clay, and iron ore.

Located along the trade routes between South Caucasus, the Near and Middle East, and Russia, Dagestan even had access to supplies of materials necessary for jewellery, copper minting, and so on.

[3] Originally looked upon with suspicion by the communist authorities, who didn't endorse privately-owned enterprises, Kubachi masters took part in the 1923 All-Union Agricultural Exhibition.

In 1924, in the early days of the Soviet Union, a workshop in Kubachi was founded, engaging artisans not only in traditional jewellery and weapons but also silver portcigars, spoons, and other items for dining rooms.

In subsequent decades, the workshop, later factory, would win 18 gold and silver medals at 12 international exhibitions, including Brussels in 1958, Montreal in 1967, Osaka in 1970, Zagreb in 1981, and Copenhagen and Düsseldorf in 1982.

Allegedly, the museum owns a saber of Nadir Shah, ruler of Persia 1736-1747, and a silver vase displaying the images of the first leaders of the USSR.