Bukhara – A Journey on the Silk Route, in the National Crafts Museum | photo credit: special arrangement
Silk Route. About 6,437 km from China to Europe 1,500 years of business. Caravanserai carrying silk and spices, precious stones and porcelain, jade and glassware, even horses, plague and gunpowder. And in the center of this world: Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and the Fergana Valley. Here came Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Islam and Communism. Here nomadic and pastoral Turkic and Mongol tribes flowed. Genghis Khan laid siege here, and from this land came the cruel but brilliant Timur, the scholar Al Biruni and the scientist Ibn Sina.
of a woman Ikat Chapan Since the 19th century. The jacket acquired its silky polish by beating it with a wooden mallet and probably egg whites Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
No wonder the world has now woken up to the riches of present-day Uzbekistan. Two ongoing exhibitions in Paris – at the Louvre and the Institut du Monde Arabe – focus on its treasures. And the third is inspired by them. in India. Bukhara – A Journey on the Silk Route, at the National Crafts Museum in Delhi. However, unlike the other two, the bulk of the exhibition is drawn from the personal archives of David Housego and Mandeep Nagi, who are at the helm of Shades of India, and focuses on the nomadic heritage of the region. Shades of India is a brand known for its expertise with Indian craft and textile manipulation.
a tashkent suzani (silk on cotton) from the beginning of the 19th century | photo credit: special arrangement
for the love of suzanne
The story begins in Afghanistan. In the early 1970s, David Housego, then a journalist financial Times, was sent there on assignment. Wandering through the bazaars he noticed a beautiful red hand-embroidered textile panel or suzani, There were big red circles and dark rings above it. “I fell in love with it,” he says. “At first I was struck by how contemporary they were. They had an understanding of color that I could relate to as abstract paintings.
he s uzani (Persian for needle), they later discovered, was a 19th-century piece from Tashkent. This is part of 40 pieces – 16 Susan’s14 rugs, six Chapans or coat, and some jewelery and accessories – including Bukhara. Housego had already been collecting tribal rugs during his time in Iran, prior to his purchase. suzani from Afghanistan. But that piece started a lifelong interest in Central Asian works.
carpet
Bashir rugs, as they were called in Bukhara, were believed to have been made in the nearby small town of Bashir, but were most likely woven by Ersari weavers, the tribal Turkmen living along the banks of the Amu Darya. They are known for their inventive designs and colors.
twin ikat Did Chapan It is a technique which is now extinct.
A quick primer: Susan’s Originated from the nomadic tribes of Central Asia, where they were used as everything from protective armor to prayer mats and bedsheets in yurts or tents. They were made in thin strips and sewn together. What deserves special attention is the abstraction of the floral motifs and the beauty of the needlework. “The circle like motifs represented the sun and moon, and were locally [at that time] Interpreted as both,” says Housego. The circles also denoted pomegranates, shorthand for fertility. , Suzanis were given as dowry for marriage. [Work on them] It often started when a girl child was born,” he adds.
Suzanis upon seeing Bukhara Exhibition | photo credit: Gulshan Sachdeva
tracking motifs
All exhibits were created over a short period of 100 years when Uzbekistan was relatively stable and the cities were prosperous before Russian collectivization and industrialization in the early 20th century. Everything is vegetable and hand-dyed. “In Bukhara, the city was divided into different communities and some specialized in dyeing. So, the Jewish community specialized in indigo and the Tajik specialized in red and yellow which are both very attractive features ikat and of Susan’sHousego says.
The performance was planned by Mandeep Nagi and Amita Gol. Divided into three parts, it was designed to weave common threads running together ikat, Susan’s, rugs, and even jewellery. The pieces have been layered with the influence of the various empires that ruled Uzbekistan, from Kushan to Achaemenid to Islamic. The Silk Route also has influence.
“You can see that some pieces were influenced by Chinese motifs. The embroidery silk also came from China,” says Nagi. Also, the Botheh Or the paisley design comes from India. The use of small strips and later gluing them together is similar to phulkari as is intended to make garments to bless daughters. The floral motifs of tulips, carnations and roses and irises take you to Persian and Mughal gardens. “These are things you won’t see until a generation later,” she says. “Will anyone know about this craft and culture? It is already rare now.
Bukhara: A journey on the Silk Road continues until February 15 at the National Crafts Museum.
The writer is a fashion consultant and commentator based in New Delhi.