Златар Јован Николић

Abstract

Златарска уметност у Србији током XIX века доживела је темељну трансформацију услед промене културних модела и преклапања одговарајућих уметничких пракси. Увођење серијске производње и индустријализација, као и закони о контроли квалитета злата и сребра, важни су чиниоци који преображавају стари кујунџилук у модерно златарство. Један од главних протагониста и парадигматски пример овог културног процеса био је београдски златар Јован Николић, који у српској средини делује од друге половине XIX века. Овај рад има за циљ да потпуније прикаже његов златарски опус, публикујући непознате радове и грађу за Николићеву биографију, као и његово учешће и улогу у креирању српске грађанске визуелне културе у дру гој половини XIX века.

The goldsmithing art in Serbia went through a thorough transformation during the 19th century because of the changes in cultural models and overlaps of corresponding artistic practices. The introduction of serial manufacture and industrialization, as well as the laws on the quality control of gold and silver were important factors which transformed the old tinsmithing into modern goldsmithing. One of the main protagonists and a paradigmatic example of this cultural process was a Belgrade goldsmith Jovan Nikolić. He had been working in Serbia since 1850, when he moved with his family to Belgrade from the Habsburg Monarchy, until 1899, when he died. His work was preserved in silver and it was shaped in the historical styles of the time, from late Biedermeyer classicism to the second rococo and neo-Baroque. A large number of his works was preserved in church treasuries so using that opus we can gain insight into the entire nature and manner of his work. The quality control of gold and silver by the Serbian state can also be followed in the example of Jovan Nikolić. He brought from the Habsburg Monarchy the manner of hall-marking, which included a craftsman’s stamp and the 13 silver solder purity, which had been in use in Serbia as well. At the beginning of the 1870’s the state introduced the Cyrillic transcription and the Serbian Prince’s coat of arms as part of the hall-mark. Furthermore, in 1882 King Milan Obrenović brought the law on the control of gold and silver with new, generally binding hall-marks. The participation and role of goldsmith Jovan Nikolić in the creation of Serbian visual culture in the second half of the 19th century is significant for the study of pieces of applied art and, through them, the civil culture and way of life, both in the private and public sphere. Nikolić equally shaped civic artifacts objects as well as the religious ones, with a deep understanding of their function. He used the advantages of contemporary technological ways of production and the acquired taste of the time thus transforming the traditional tinsmithing into civil goldsmithing which suited the needs of the independent Serbian state.