An example of this can be found in the Albion Collection. Shanash is a relatively small leather bag of an unusual shape for storing certain food, such as flour, grain or, perhaps, salt.
It was made of the skin of a sheep or goat ‘pulled’ from the carcass: the legs and neck apertures were sewn up and the tail aperture served as the neck of the bag. The skin was cured properly. It was cleaned and softened, for which it was being stretched and twisted with the hands. Sometimes it was arranged on the floor and trampled to make it more elastic. It was a long and complex process. Now, clean and soft, the skin was dyed with natural pigments, such as rhubarb root or pomegranate peel, which made it yellow or orange. A finished shanasha resembled a mitten, the animal’s legs forming the sections. The edges were sewn with green or purple silk threads.
What makes this arguably the largest private collection of 19th – 20th-century Karakalpak artefacts particularly valuable is its integrity and clear direction solely aimed at collecting Karakalpak items for everyday use.
In the 20th century the Karakalpaks faced a series of environmental problems associated with the shrinkage of the Aral Sea, which had a negative impact on their traditional culture. This is why it is so important to revive some forgotten traditions of the Karakalpak art and to preserve unique works in museums and private collections.
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.
