The Arts and Crafts of the |  |
The Arts and Crafts of the | |
I returned for a visit in September, 1995, and things were not the same. Within the past six months, the museum has been opening new sections of the exhibition, "The Arts and Crafts of the People of Central Asia." It draws on the collections of the museum, and they are indeed rich and varied. The space for this exhibit is double the size of the galleries I had seen previously; these spaces had previously been used for exhibitions on the toiling proletariat. With the demise of the Soviet Union and the birth of Uzbekistan's own independence, the Museum of the History and Culture of Uzbekistan, as it is formally known, is focusing on exhibitions from Uzbek life and culture.
While not everyone will be willing to dash off to Central Asia and Uzbekistan to see this exhibition, I thought it was interesting enough to alert readers in the West who may be considering a trip.
Things are changing in this part of the world -- but slowly. Little had changed in terms of hotels and modes of travel. Visa issuance varies from country to country; Turkmenistan is easy, Uzbekistan is difficult. Making arrangements, if you want to go on your own, is very troublesome and even more so if you do not know Russian. Despite such problems, the number of travellers to this still somewhat exotic destination will continue to increase because there are many interesting things to see and do there.
The Samarkand Museum is one of the major museums of Uzbekistan. The displays are a bit old-fashioned, like a natural history museum, but one does not come this far expecting to see the latest in museum display innovation. The museum staff was faced with a formidable challenge by the space alone: the gallery ceiling is about 18 feet high and the L-shaped gallery about 45 feet wide. While the ceiling height works well for large carpets, these dimensions are daunting for the task of displaying smaller items, such as jewelry and metalwork.
In the first gallery, where small objects are displayed, small shop spaces were built within the facade of a building to accommodate the need for an intimate view of the items. Above these spaces, the walls were painted with a crenelated design, like the ramparts of an old city fortress wall seen in the distance. This approach to the space was quite effective. Most thoughtfully, the museum had labeled the items in both Russian and English.
Costume gallery with covered cradle and child in foreground. |  |
The next gallery is devoted to textiles of several different types: suzanis, printed cloth, ikat, and other embroidered fabrics. Mixed in among these are pieces of pottery, furniture, and metalwork. Perhaps the most spectacular of the suzanis is one of the type called Large Medallion. My favorite remains the one I first saw on my previous visit. It is attributed to Tashkent and is done on a purple silk fabric. The small pattern details in the rosettes and botehs are phenomenal. There was also an interesting comparison of patterns between a printed cloth and a Shahrisabz mirror cover.
Another gallery was devoted to carpets. The 30 pieces exhibited included Turkoman, Uzbek, Kirgyz, Arab, and Kazakh rugs and flatweaves, and they ranged from early 19th century rugs to contemporary pieces. One, a quarter fragment of an early Beshir carpet, had a much more complex patterning than what we are used to seeing in these, including a wide variety of botehs. There was also a double-niche prayer rug from the late 19th century that Moshkova had cited but not illustrated in her book. At the end of this gallery was a yurt with its accompanying articles displayed as in use. Behind the yurt along the wall was an elegantly colored Kirgyz chikh, and the wall above the chikh had been painted to resemble the desert sky.
From here one entered the bottom of the "L" into the most recently opened section of the exhibition. This was devoted to the various ethnic costumes of the people of Uzbekistan. Because of this theme, textiles predominate not only in the clothing but the backdrop walls were typically hung with more suzanis. There are also small displays within this gallery of various types of hats, small embroidered purses, and covers for specialized uses. One can see the difference in dress of nomadic and city people. The nomadic dress is decorated with more embroidery and unusual pieces, especially for women. City dress is more opulent with the use of fabrics with metallic threads, velvet, and ikat.
An interesting aspect to this exhibit is that all Central Asian people are included, not just those of Uzbekistan. At the Museum of Fine Arts in Tashkent, only the art of Uzbekistan is featured; this means that rugs and textiles made by Turkomans and Tajiks are not on permanent display although their arts are found in the collection. These are only exhibited in special exhibits. The Samarkand exhibition includes items from Tajiks, Turkomans, and Kazakhs as well as the principal ethnic groups of Uzbekistan: Uzbeks, Arabs, Karakalpaks, and Kirgyz. This possibly makes it the only comprehensive exhibit of these arts and crafts in all the Central Asian republics.
More galleries on the theme of Central Asian arts are planned for the future. Still to come may be galleries devoted to buzkashi, silk raising and the weaving of ikat, tobacco and the products associated with it -- who knows? Whatever they are, it is certain to be interesting because of the extensive art resources of this museum.
The Samarkand Museum is a stop to be placed on any travel itinerary to Samarkand, along with the Registan, Bibi Khanum, Tamerlane's Tomb, Ulugh Beg Observatory, and Shah-i-Zendeh. It is in a new modern building adjacent to the Registan and at the entrance to the main bazaar and it is easy to find.
