� THE ART OF CARPET
Acquaintance
SHIRIN MELIKOVA :
“ Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum today is more than just a museum ”
Shirin Melikova has been heading the Azerbaijan National Museum carpet since 2016 , and during this time she has brought an already unique collection to a new level . Today the museum in Baku is the rarest extensive collections of carpets and rugs products , embroidery , jewelry , ceramics and etc . It is exhibitions , lectures and master classes . It is collaborations with modern artists and many activities for children , allowing them to study native culture and history . It is openness for people with disabilities and active work on the Internet . Today we are discussing with Shirin Melikova how to organise the “ Museum without Borders ” and many other things .
Shirin Melikova
►Tell us about the history of the creation of your unique carpet museum in Baku ? - The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum was established in 1967 on the initiative of Latif Karimov , the founder of the carpet weaving science , artist and teacher . At the time of its creation , it was the first museum of its kind in the world and it is no coincidence that it was founded in Azerbaijan , a country famous for its carpets since ancient times . The funds of the museum were formed over many years . They include seven collections : Flat-woven Carpets , Pile Carpets , Carpet Products , National Costume and Artistic Embroidery , Archeology , Artistic Metal and Jewelry .
Latif Kerimov , from the moment the museum was founded until his own death , took part in completing the collection . A group of scientists went on expeditions throughout the country . Acquiring historical artifacts , they worked with the local population , with contemporaries – both artisans and professional artists . This is how a large collection , which includes items from the Bronze Age to our time , was formed .
Initially , the museum was located in the Juma Mosque in Icherisheher ( Old City ), the ancient part of Baku , which is actually an inhabited open-air museum . But years passed , and by the beginning of the 1990s , a lot had changed : the building of the mosque was returned to believers , and the museum , which had long been cramped in its old place , was relocated to the Museum Centre ( the former branch of the Moscow Museum of V . I . Lenin ) with a larger space room with halls . But over time , by decree of the President of Azerbaijan , Ilham Aliyev , its current building was built , designed for the museum .
@ shirinmelik Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum
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