Ficti le art is con sidered as on e of the oldest craft s. Origin ating from the dawn of the hum an civi lization to sati sfy the needs in hou sehold ut ensils, the ceramic s in Uzbekistan became on e of the mo st im portant parts in the wo rld cu ltu ral herit age. Princi pal shapes and deco ration types of pot ery had been fo rmed already during the Bron ze Age.

Artisans began using potter’s wheel already then, and then significance of its invention can rightly be compared to the invention of the wheel. Ceramic items were decorated with meander-type notching and broken lines, or with paintings of animals and plants encircled by the geometrical figures resembling the sun, stars, waves. These ornaments which anciently used to have magical significance have been preserved with slight odifications up to the present days to decorate the Uzbekistan pottery.

Cent ers of Ceramic s

The principal centers of ceramics in Uzbekistan are located in Tashkent, Fergana Valley, Samarkand, Ghizhduvan, Shakhrisabz, and Khorezm. The works by the prominent craftsman from Tashkent, the hereditary potter in the fifth generation Usto Muhiddin Rahimov and his son, the Member of the Uzbekistan Academy of Arts, the Academician Akbar Rahimov have been created on the basis of studying the ancient samples of fictile art; the restoration of the ancient artistic technique, ornamental motives and recipes of coloring materials from the ceramic items. Having studied the archeological finds, he managed to restore the Afrasiab ceramics of the Kushan empire age and the medieval Tashkent. Potters from Tashkent Ch. Sadikov, Sh. Giyamov, A. Raufov used the ancient methods of painting in their artistic works. For almost fifteen hundred years the town of hizhduvan, situated in fourty kilometers from Bukhara has been remaining as one the well-known centers for manufacturing ceramics in Uzbekistan. Documentary records of the eighths century have preserved up tothe present days the name of the craftsman Akhundjan; and this serves as a proof of the local fictile art ntiquity. Ceramic items by Usmon Umarov and his apprentice, hereditary potter in the sixth generation Ibadullo Narzullayev represent the glory of Ghizhduvan in our museum. Ceramic items made by them on the potter’s wheel and colorfully decorated with yellow, dark blue, red ornaments remind us of the vitality in the old traditions. A thick layer of lead glazing gives emphasis of the freshness of colors and dithers the ornament contours by giving them picturesque qualities. Ishkor – anci ent glaze

Ceramic items are painted using the lead glazing in many regions of the country but the oldest and highly ppreciated by connoisseurs is blue glazing called Ishkor. The famous centers of the traditional blue ceramics in Uzbekistan are located in Rishtan and Gurumsaray villages of Fergana Valley. Potter trade here dates back to about one thousand years. Ceramic items made by the Rishtan potters and covered with bright blue glazing shkor where in high demand during the entire length of the Great Silk Road from China to the Arabian eninsula.

Masters of Rishtan

Under the order of Amir Temur several artisans were sent from Samarkand to Rishtan at the end of ÕIV century with the instruction to find the secret of manufacturing. The Chinese porcelain with cobalt glazing. Due to the fact that there were no kaolin clay deposits, the porcelain production couldn’t be set up; but using the local types of clay the potters had started producing faience covered with white glazing and blue paintings, the so-called “chinni” ceramics, meaning Chinese. The Chinese style has got its unique development in the land of Uzbekistan.

As far back as in XIXth century the Rishtan potters produced “chinni”crockery which had been in reat demand. According to the ancient beliefs, blue and azure colors of water and the sky symbolize happiness.

Ceramic masterpieces by Abdullo who lived and worked in Rishtan at the end of the XIX century re truly unique. Pottery works was set up in Rishtan in the beginning of the sixtieth of the XXth century, it mployed modern technologies and factory-made glazing; and then the old methods of producing ceramics had started disappearing. However, thanks to the enthusiasm and the work of hereditary artisans I. Kamilov and Sh.Yusupov, the secrets of the famous blue glazing were restored. A grass called “gul’ob” grows in the foothills of Tien-Shan mountains, it is harvested in autumn, after that the grass is burnt, and the ashes containing potash, produce the major components of the blue glazing. If lead is added into that compound, one can get obalt glazing; the addition of copper produces turquoise blue; and warmbrown color is produced while mixing ashes with manganese.

The Rishtan artisans have managed not only to restore the ancient technology of roducing the Ishqor blue glazing but also revived the old shapes and ornaments of ceramic paintings. Academician Sh. Yusupov, craftsman M. Saidov, N. Kodirov, R. Usmanov, M. Azizov paint dishes (liagan) in the traditional manner of Chorbarg (Quatrefoil) ornament, Bodomghul (Almond bloom), they also paint fruits and flowers of pomegranate. All these motifs are known since the ancient times, and can be seen in the aintings of ablution jars (Koumgan), vessels (Choidysh) and knives. The shape of ornamental ablution jars in the form of a duck (Obdasta urdak) or a camel (Obdasta shuturbuyin) is peculiar to Rishtan only. Unlike ishtan, the art of painting the surface of pottery with the Ishkor glazing has never disappeared in Gurumsaray.

The reative art of the Gurumsaray artisans like H. Satimov, M. Rakhimov and M. Tourapov who lived in the second half of XXth century is represented by dishes – liagans, milk jars (Qaimaqdon), chalices with crossshaped ornaments called Bootsimon Bezak; Cockscombs, polygonal stellular ornament. Works by V. Bouvayev, the apprentice of M. Tourapov, and who continues the traditions of the Gurumsaray school, also draw spectators\' attention.

(Source: “Uzbekistan travel news” newspaper)