Illustration: Large embroidered hanging from Bukhoro, Uzbekistan.
The embroidery skills and decorative pattern work of Uzbekistan are some of the most iconic of Central Asia. Although embroidery was used extensively in costume, apart from the ubiquitous cap or hat, many outside of Uzbek culture are more familiar with domestic embroidery.
Many of the best examples of Uzbek embroidery are in the form of internal hangings, bedspreads and covers. The design work is often bold both in decoration and colour choice. The origin of the various pattern designs has much to do with the geographical location of not only Uzbekistan, but of Central Asia as a whole.
Illustration: Satellite map of Uzbekistan.
The area that now comprises the 'Stans' as they are often called; previously part of Soviet Central Asia has always been a crossroads of both culture and trade. Many of the Uzbek examples of embroidery show heavy influences from as far a field as India, China, Iran and the nomadic peoples of Eurasia. The melting pot of ideas, cultures and religions, has given us the decorative printed and embroidery work that today we call Uzbek. However, perhaps even more importantly, the Central Asian region has a unique blend of countless generations of peoples and cultures that make the skills base of the region a library of historical decoration, ornament and skill that can be found nowhere else.
Illustration: Embroidery from Bukhoro, Uzbekistan, c1800.
Embroidery is often thought of as largely a skill that is urban based or at least that of settled people. Many of the numerous styles connected with Uzbekistan do tend to be associated with the major trading towns of the country. Bukhoro (Bukhara), Samarqand (Samarkand), Toshkent (Tashkent) and Farghona (Fergana) are all towns that have major embroidery styles associated with them and were indeed age old centres of schools of embroidery that were unique in many ways to their original geographical locations.
Illustration: Uzbek embroidery.
However, the influence of nomadic cultures that have always passed through and around the urban centres of Central Asia should not be marginalised. These people have always had an appreciation of and a penchant for the dynamic and energetic qualities of pattern and colour. It may well be true that the sophisticated cultures of India, China and Iran have added immeasurably to the embroidered pattern work of Uzbek culture as well as many other aspects of Uzbek craft work. However, without the dimension of the energetic liveliness of unbridled compositional pattern work and bold use of colour, Uzbek embroidery, while still exceptional, would not have been truly unforgettable.
Illustration: Embroidery of Lakai people, Uzbekistan, mid 19th century.
Sophistication has its merits, but sometimes the addition, even if only a small element of the whole can make all the difference to the dynamism of decorative pattern work. Although in many respects nomadic life has been relegated to the edges of our largely urban existence, the dynamics of nomadic culture threads its way often inextricably through many aspects of human decorative history.
There are a number of online sites selling a large variety of Uzbek printed and embroidered textiles, some of which are listed below. Also listed are a number of books dealing with Uzbek embroidery. All are within the Further reading links section below.
Further reading links:
Marla Mallet Collection
Thomas Cole Antique Rugs & Textiles
Uzbekistan Tourist info
Uztextile.com
Uzbek Craft
Uzbek Alive
Uzbek Embroidery in the Nomadic Tradition: The Jack and Aviva Robinson Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Uzbek Silk Embroidery, 19th Century Giclee Poster Print, 18x24
A Journey Through Embroidery: Central Asian Embroideries - Ref. 12001-2
Embroidery: Traditional Designs, Techniques, and Patterns from All over the World
Embroidered Textiles: A World Guide to Traditional Patterns
Uzbek Embroidery in the Nomadic Tradition: The Jack and Aviva Robinson Collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Uzbekistan: Heir to the Silk Road
