Pattern Design: the Handing Down of Local Wisdom of the Silversmiths in Khwaosinarin District

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to study the art of engraving the silver jewelry; and to see how the local wisdom of this art was handed down from generation to generation of the silversmiths in Khwaosinarin District, Surin Province. The populations of this study were the silversmiths in the past and at the present of the district. The samples, drawn by means of the purposive sampling, were the thirteen silversmiths. The tools used in collecting the data were the Structured Interview Guide Scripts. Data analysis was done by means of content analysis, data interpretation, and conclusion. The points of the study, then, were presented through descriptions. It was found that there were two methods of producing the silver jewelry; to engrave, and to ornament. There were two patterns of design; the design pattern for beads, and the design pattern for earrings. The design patterns for beads and earrings can be divided into three types: (1) the design pattern derived from the natural products, (2) the geometric design of a line, a point, a circle, a triangle, a rectangle engraved on the surface of the silver jewelry to show the contrast as well as the harmony of the patterns, (3) the design patterns derived from the spontaneous outflow of the powerful feeling of the silversmiths themselves. At the present, there are two more design patterns for earrings; (1) the pattern derived from the meadow flowers in triple piles, and (2) the pattern derived from the bird pepper flowers. The values and the significance of designing the patterns of the silver jewelry, both in the past and at the present can be considered into three different dimensions; art values, economic values, and social values. The pattern designing of the silver jewelry and the way to hand down this art of the silversmiths in Khwaosinarin District both in the past and at the present had similar steps of implementation.