The Hermitage collection preserves a collection of medieval ceramic hearths decorated with relief patterns.
The hearths were places where fire was lit and embers were stored inside the building, and they also served as decorations in the house.
The patterns on the hearths can be considered a simplified representation of the artistic styles used in the decoration of the magnificent mosques and madrasas of that time. The images of the hearth in the form of a horseshoe with a protruding wall in the foreground imitated the architectural structure of the niche or arch.
The decorations depict four folded columns, a pair of birds, and a shaped arch with the image of the tree of life. There are also fragments of the hearth in the form of a crescent and a sphere. The bulls' horns are decorated with wreaths, and on the upper part are an eagle with a body resembling a lion and a ferret.
Based on the example of the decoration of hearths, it can be concluded that the architectural decoration of Maverannahr in the 9th-13th centuries combined the traditions of two cultures: the Sogdian artistic heritage preserved in the practice of rural masters and new decorative styles that appeared in the art of Muslim states.
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