Among Zoroastrian burial items, there is a camel-shaped zoomorphic OSTADON lying there. It was found…
In Varypayeva’s collection there are three carpets, two plain-woven and one with pile.
Both plain-woven carpets are composite, i.e. made from pre-woven panels (tahts) using different techniques.
In the first one, terme-gilam, stripes in the kohma technique are combined with stripes in the terme technique. The alternation of patterned and striped tahts makes the carpet vividly distinct. Such items were produced by many tribal groups of Uzbeks in Kashqadarya and Surkhondarya Regions.
The second carpet is also composite. There patterned strips in the besh-kashta technique are combined with strips decorated with embroidery, mostly red and blue wool on a white background. The distinct geometric style, the clear rhythm produced by diamonds of different sizes dominating in the pattern, and the rich and balanced color range make this carpet a wonderful example of Uzbek weaving. Such carpets could be used at a wedding feast as a curtain that protected the bride’s place from the gazes of the participants and therefore were known under the generalized name of kiz-gilam.
Finally, there is the pile carpet, supposedly kyrgyzy-khydyrsha from the Fergana Valley. Its decor is very illustrative of the evolution of forms. The main motif is a cruciform medallion, known as a kaikalak (perhaps from khaikel – idol), where floral rosettes are depicted but instead of the horn curls on the ends of the cross. Such a change from “steppe” protective symbols to floral ones shows the changing aesthetic preferences of former nomads.
You can learn more about this topic in the book-album “The Collection of the State Museum of the History of Religion” (Volume XII) from the series “Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in the world collections”.
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