Kolt

Kolt or kolty was a part of a female headgear, hanging on a ryasna at both temples as a sign of family's wealth, common in 11th-13th centuries in Old Rus'. It comprised a pair of metal pieces, joined to form a hollow medallion or star that, presumably, contained a piece of cloth, impregnated with fragrances.

The origin of the word “kolt” is obscure. As a term, it was introduced in the late 19th century in the course of ethnographic surveys. According to a version it derived from the Ukrainian: ковтки, meaning 'earrings',^[1] also in West-Ukrainian dialects “колток”.^[2] In a Novgorod dialect the word “колтки” means pendants of earrings, it was also mentioned in birch bark document No. 644, found in Novgorod, dating back to Novgorod Republic.

• Pekarskaja, Ljudmila V. (1997). Treasures from Ancient Kiev in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Dumbarton Oaks. Vol. 32 (Metropolitan Museum Journal ed.). New York. pp. 65–75.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Рыбаков, Б. А. (1971). Декоративно-прикладное искусство Руси X-XIII веков (in Russian). Leningrad: Аврора. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
• Жилина, Н. В. (1997). Древнерусские звездчатые колты (схема развития) (in Russian) (Научные чтения памяти В. М. Василенко ed.). Moscow. pp. 140–150.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Ляусік Н.А. (2003). Ціснёныя колты са збораў ГДГАМ (in Belarusian) (Краязнаўчыя запіскі. Вып. 6 ed.). Grodno. pp. 3–5. Archived from the original on 2013-12-05.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

• a kolt in the collection of Kremlin Armory Chamber, Moscow
• a star-shaped kolt in the collection of Kremlin Armory Chamber, Moscow
• a circular kolt in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
• a circular silver kolt found in the Berestye archeological site, Belarus, featuring a seed with sprouts