Bukharan craft guilds also produced sumptuous silk velvet textiles (baghmal), among the most sophisticated and luxurious ikat fabrics from anywhere in the world.
Of the four baghmal pieces in the Paly collection the woman’s coat, or munisak, is easily the most spectacular. The composition of the design is reminiscent of the Chahar Bagh garden carpets of both Mughal India and Iran which have broad vertical and horizontal axes, representing the water canals that would divide a walled garden into four symmetrical parts. In the center of gardens of this kind there would be a raised platform or pavilion, here represented by a red medallion. It is impossible to say whether the origin of this design is Central Asian or Persian, but its adaptation in velvet ikat is remarkable.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in private collections of the USA and Canada" (volume XXXI) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
_1_1.webp)
