Clay in Uzbekistan has been us ed since the ancient times not only for produ cing earthenware but also for pett y plastic figures like to ys. Artisans – pupp eteers (Khashpou lakchi) made plastering toys and whistles. The histo ry of clay to ys like terra cott a items dates back to almost fou r thous and years. Fragments of clay whistles along with smithereens of utensils were fou nd in the Neolit hic Age sites. Accordi ng to the folk-beliefs, du ring the pre-Islamic times thos e figurines in the form of birds had the alchemy.

During the ceremony of celebrating Navruz (the day of the vernal equinox) whistling was used to attract spring rain as Water of Loving Kindness that symbolized hope of a future harvest. Craftswoman Kh. Rakhimova from the ancient village of Ouba in the Bukhara Region has become world-famous for her clay whistles. Toys and whistles (Sher, Ot, Sherbacha, Tovuq, Dev) were also made by her apprentice and the custodian of old traditions K. Babaeva. Whistles are mould in bright clay, then baked in a primitive pottery kiln, and subsequently decorated with colorful red, green, blue speckles. Some horse toys have a hump on their back, a rudiment which remained from tha antique drawings of winged horses.

Whistles made by R. Zukhurov, the craftsman from the Surkhandarya Region, are made of terracotta and decorated not only with paintings but also notching on the natural clay. Amazing toys on wheels made by A. Sattarova, a craftswoman from Kitab have unique shapes. Several thousands years ago the oldest center of the fictile art was in the Samarkand Region. Paintings of glazed ceramic vessels still can be seen on the wall-paintings of the Afrasiab ruins; many clay figurines of local deities and fantastic animals made by artisans of the fabulous Soghdiana were also excavated. The antique symbols of the earth, water, sky, the sun and stars are recognizable on the items covered with brown glazing with yellow and green decorations made by the pottery craftsmen from Samarkand during the 20th century. Works by outstanding Smarkand craftsman, People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Oumar Tourakulov and his apprentices and followers Sh.Azimov, Kh. Baturov, and M. Nosyrov are made according to the traditions of the Afrasiab fine plastic arts. These are vessels of a unique shape, candle holders, ash trays, profusely decorated with moldings in a shape of fantastic animals, figurines of dragons, birds, camels. Similar antique traditions of plastering serve as basis for funny genre figurines made of baked clay by the Smarkand craftsman A.Mukhtarov, the first folk artisan of the fine plastic arts. Golden and silver thread embroidery is made mostly on the velvet. The Bukhara gold embroideresses classify the gold embroidery into several types depending on the employed technique. The principal ones among them are the complete embroidery of the background with gold called Zardouzyzamindouzy, and ornamental (floral) embroidery Zardouzy-gul– douzy. Apart from that, a combined technique is also used, which is called Zardouzyguldouzyzamind– ouzy where the motifs made with silk alternate with golden ornaments of Zardouzy-berishimdouzy; as well as the stitching where gold is combined with the sown spangles Zardouzy-poulakchadouzy. As for the composition of gold embroidery, historically three kinds of it had been formed; they are Daukur, Boutador, and Darkham. The basis of the decorative arrangement of the Daukur composition is an ornamented gold embroidered edging, when all the edges of the item are stitched, for example, flaps of the attire, ends of sleeves and hems. The remaining area is free from stitching. But in any case the essential element of that (Source: Uzbekistan travel news – Íîâîñòè òóðèçìà Óçáåêèñòàíà newspaper)