After Czechoslovakia gained independence in 1918, the Picture Gallery became the main institution of fine art collections. Under its modern name, the National Gallery Prague – which is the successor of the Art Gallery and the Modern Gallery – was formed in accordance with the law adopted in 1949. Now it is the most extensive collection of works of art in the Czech Republic.
In the late 19th century factory made fabrics were imported to Central Asia from Afghanistan, England and Russia. This resulted in colored backgrounds (red, yellow and violet) for embroideries. Sometimes silk was used for lining. According to Lutfia Mirsadiyeva, locally produced violet, green and yellow silk textiles, alongside white and colored cotton fabrics imported from Russia, were used as the ground for embroidery since the 1860s – 1870s. 5 In comparison to patterns embroidered on a white background, which highlighted the beauty of colors, embroideries on colored backgrounds looked plainer, while the range of embroidery threads was limited to just a few colors.
The main and commonest embroidery material until the late 19th century was silk thread of local production. Women independently grew silkworms and unwound cocoons or forwarded them to a cocoon workshop for processing. Threads were also dyed at home with the use of natural pigments. The commonest were madder, which gave the red color; cochineal used for a wide range of colors – from pink to carmine; and isparak, to get the yellow color, which in combination with indigo also gave green. Professional dyers, mostly Jews, were engaged in dyeing threads in indigo.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Collection of the Czech Republic" (Volume XVI) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.
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