Zgardas are women's neck and chest ornaments with cross-shaped pendants made of bronze or brass, which were most common in the Hutsul region. The crosses were connected by metal elements or strung on a cord between beads of Venetian glass ("pysany patsyorky"), coral, amber or other materials. Such zgardas consisted of 1 up to 5 or 7 strings.
The formation of zgardas as chest amulets has passed a long way of development, initiated by the pagan tradition - zgardas had a powerful protective effect.
Initially, a characteristic feature of zgard pendants was the inscription of an equal-pointed cross with four small circles with a six-petal rosette between the shoulders. These cross-shaped motifs, having pre-Christian origin, were solar signs.
But gradually, step by step, the disc-shaped solar signs in the zgardas became cross-shaped. Sun-like disks were replaced by crosses with equal branches, the gaps between which were filled with rays. Crosses usually had the same shape and size. Over time, the crosses lost their one-dimensionality: one of the branches became longer and the cross acquired features specific to the Christian cult form. It was on crosses of this type that relief crucifixes appeared, with features of primitive plastic. But even such purely Christian crosses still have many remnants of pagan symbols. Thus, at the end of the branches of these crosses we sometimes find solar rosettes or circles.
However, in the future, crosses on Hutsul chest ornaments from complementary elements become the main elements, turning "patsyorky", "tied with kryzhykas", into zgardas - expensive cross chest ornaments, which, along with Venetian and coral beads, forties and rustles, became a sign of "wealth" of their owners.
To connect the zgardas, the so-called "chepragas" were used - two, mostly round, plates decorated with chased or openwork ornaments. Chepragas were usually large in size - some of them reached 6-7 cm in diameter. Chepragas with solar symbols were designed to protect people from evil spirits. In the central part of the chepraga's decor, as well as in zgardas, in most cases various variants of solar symbols were placed: a wheel with eight, six or four spokes, concentric circles.
Zoriana Kuryliak