Asya Yeutykh

Yeutykh was born on 8 December 1962 in Sovetskaya, a village in the Kuban region.[1] Her grandfather, whom she never met, was also a goldsmith and the hereditary trade of the family is in high-status metal-working.[2] Her grandmother passed family secrets on to Yeutykh.[1] She attended Maykop City School No. 8 and then subsequently began a degree in Fine Art at the Karachay-Cherkessia State Technological Academy.[3] She then transferred to Kuban State University to study art and graphic design.[3] She is married to Ruslan Turkav.[4] They have two sons.[5]

The archaeology and heritage of Adygea is an inspiration for much of Yeutykh's work, in particular Hittite culture, Scythian art, as well as the cultural heritage of her home.[6] She is perhaps best known for her acinaces (swords), which are originally Scythian in origin.[6] She also re-invented a historic alloy, which she named Juvelus, which consists of tin, copper, silver and gold; it is supposedly based on an ancient recipe.[1] Her work is carried out using casting, engraving and gilding techniques and she makes many of her own tools.[1] Inspired by the rich heritage and archaeology of Adygea, each new year she crafts a new figurine inspired by Adygean cultural traditions; it 2016 she forged a likeness of Bigfoot, or Mezil as it is known there.[7] Another significant work is The Wishes Tree, which is based on Circassian folklore.[8]

In 1998 she created the equipment and the weapon for the Jordanian prince and his private Circassian royal guard.[9] This project commemorated the exodus of Adyghe people in the late nineteenth century.[10] In 2007 over 600 of her works were shown at the Hermitage Museum, as part of an exhibition celebrating the 450th anniversary of Adygea and Kabardino-Balkaria becoming part of the Russian State.[2][1] The exhibition was curated by Yu Yu Piotrovsky.[11] In 2015, a retrospective of her work was held in Krasnodar, which was entitled Asya Yeutykh: 5000 Years.[1] The show included 330 of her works, including a two metre high Scythian throne, rhytons, daggers, golden cups and jewellery.[1] In 2013, the totem for that year was a snake.[3] As of 2021, work was ongoing on a new centre for Yeutykh's work, consisting of an exhibition hall, workshops and studios, known as the Golden Storeroom.[4] It is intended to become a global centre for fine metalworking.[4]

Yeutykh is a member of the Russian Academy of Arts.[12] She is a member of the Association of Artists of Russia and People's Artists of the Adygea Republic.[13]

• В зеркале традиций. Произведения ювелира Аси Еутых. (Hermitage Museum, 2012).[16]

• Flickr: A Bronze Spear by Asya Yeutykh
• Youtube: Ася Еутых представила новую коллекцию украшений
• Youtube: Asya Eutykh