The State Museum of Arts holds a rich collection of Uzbek copper-embossed items from the 18th – early 20th centuries. The leading centres of traditional embossing during the period of the Uzbek khanates were Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand, Samarkand, Karshi, Shahrisabz, and Tashkent. Works of these centres are distinguished by the classical balance of proportions, elegant forms and expressive decor.
The methods of Uzbek embossing include deep engraving (candakori), less deep (chizma), and a cutting technique (shabaka). In addition to their utilitarian value, the decorative qualities of embossed dishware were of great value – they were exhibited on open shelves of cupboards as part of the decoration of houses.
Products of the 19th – early 20th centuries vary in form and function. Especially popular were the expensively decorated elegant oftoba jugs for water and choydishes for tea. Household equipment is also represented with trays, candlesticks, buckets, food vessels, ladles for water, braziers, dastshuy wash basins, cases, and snuffboxes. Patterns on embossed items are also found in other forms of Uzbek arts and crafts. The most common ornament is islimi, a curly plant pattern.
The geometric ornament girih had an auxiliary character. There are also calligraphic inscriptions. Zoomorphic images were rarely used. Basically, these are motifs associated with a part of the animal’s body: chashmi bul-bul (nightingale’s eye), pashti balyk (fish scales), kuchkorak (ram horns) and others. Often, handles and nozzles of jugs were decorated with volumetric plastic details in the form of animals’ and birds’ heads.
You can learn more about this topic in the book-album “The Collection of the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan” (Volume XIII) from the series “Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in the world collections”.
The general sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
