� THE ART OF CARPET
Antique Carpets
PATTERN CRYPTOGRAPHY
OF
UZBEK CARPETS
Much has been written that patterns on ancient utilitarian objects , including carpets , are a kind of text in which information is encrypted about the origin of the people , the vicissitudes of its history , methods of management and the surrounding landscape , cults and religions , and aesthetic priorities . ... But do we always read this text correctly ?
Unfortunately , many of its ‘ letters ’, ‘ words ’ and ‘ phrases ’ are forgotten , distorted , interpreted by researchers . Restoration of the true meaning of the ancient patterned letters is an impossible task due to many losses in traditional culture in the last decade . But the task is also very intriguing . Therefore , let ’ s try to ‘ read ’ the patterns of Uzbek carpets .
Carpets have been produced on the territory of Uzbekistan since ancient time . Most of the preserved carpets were produced in the XIX - beginning of XX centuries , Uzbek khanate period . The population of these khanates was polyethnic , therefore , when we talk about local carpet weaving , we mean the products of many peoples who lived here - the Turkmen , Karakalpaks , Arabs , Kyrgyz , Tajiks and , of course , Uzbeks . The Uzbeks wove not for sale , but for their own needs , especially for the dowry of the bride . That is why the Uzbek carpet items have been known less than the Turkmen and Arab , but they are made skillfully . The main carpet-makers among the Uzbeks were the Kungrats and Lakai of Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya , the Uzbek-Turkmans of Nurata , as well as the Uzbek population that lived in the Samarkand and Jizzakh regions and had already lost their tribal identity . All of them were engaged in cattle breeding and had an abundance of wool . In this regard , it is no coincidence that the ‘ content ’ of the Uzbek carpet is more connected with the world of steppe culture .
Dzhulhirs Uzbeks . Samarkand region , 1940s , Samarkand State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan
Until now , the decor of the Uzbek carpets rarely interpreted from the point of cult-religious beliefs . Thus , the leading researcher of Central Asia peoples ’ carpet weaving Valentine Moshkova mentioned there was a category of ‘ sacred ’ ornaments , which had religious and magical significance . Meanwhile , there is a reason to speak not only about a certain category of ornaments , but the link between the decor and the beliefs , their notions of Gods and protector , natural and proprietary surroundings . A carpet design is a text where letter-patterns are formed into magic-spell formulas , into an organic picture of life , characteristic of a particular religion . Almost every element is a symbolic representation of a concept or object ; strict forms and lines contained a huge number of images in nomads ’ life . The composition as a whole is a model of the world , the carpet border acquired the value of a talisman . Symbolism and conventionality of forms originate in the art of the archaic , in the future they become a tradition . The ability to ‘ encode ’ the image shows a specific way of weavers ’ thinking .
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