eco tj6+.qxd - Economic Cooperation Organization

Woodwork
Wall painting, wood and plaster carving
can be found in house decorations.
In the northern towns of Khudjand (formerly
Leninabad), and Istravshan (formerly
Ura-Tyube), great attention was
paid to the painting of ceilings, and in
the western town of the Bukhara- wall
painting. Both forms of interior decoration
are found in Samarkand. The best
way to see both ancient and modern
applications of fine wood cutting and
ornamental painting is in private homes
in mahalIas (districts), mosques and in
teahouses. Centers of woodcraft are
Istravshan and Isfarain in the north.
Almost all the houses in towns and villages
had Ivans (verandas) with a figured
column topped by a carved beam.
The doors and wooden shutters, which
originally substituted for windows, were
also carved.
Pottery &
Metal Works
One of the oldest
and most popular
handicrafts is pottery.
The production of
own temperature
ware was a fundamentally
efficient
process. Low firing
temperatures and
short firing times limited
the amount of
fuel required important
in dry areas of Tajikistan where surplus
of vegetation was not to be wasted
and fuel often had to be painstakingly
gathered and carted from a distance. In
the hot, dry summers of Tajikistan,
porous earthenware kept water and liquid
milk products cool through transportation
and evaporation. The water
ewers, jugs and drinking pitches produced
today are practically indistinguishable
in body and form from artifacts
excavated. Archaeological records
bear witness to the popularity of ceramic
miniatures and toys in Tajikistan.
Excavated toy figurines and whistles
dating from hundreds or thousands of
years ago differ little in form and inspiration
from those still made today, particularly
for the traditional spring solstice
celebration of Navruz celebrated
on 21 March. Favorite subjects include
birds, sheep, dogs, horses, fish and
mythological beings. There is a legend
that potter is connected with fire, and it
was always considered that half the creation
of a Pot is the craftsman's work
and half is through the magic of the
fire. In the towns and large villages, pottery
was usually a man's occupation. In
the southeastern mountainous region
potteries were made by women. The
potter's wheel was turned by foot. Most
popular, was pottery made in Khujand
and Istravshan. Good
pottery was also produced
in the Isfara
Valley (Kanibadam
and Chorku) and the
Karatag Settlement in
the Hissar Valley. The
range of objects
made by the potters
was very wide and
included dishes of
various sizes and
shapes, cups - large
and small, with and
without stems, curved and straight,
diverse earthenware jars, bowls, washtubs,
and jugs. The ornamentation and
color schemes differed with each
region. Decoration, if applied, was
incised, appliquéd, mounded, drawn or
painted using solutions of suspensions
of ground red and ochre-colored oxides
and other minerals. It was only in the
ninth and tenth centuries that potters
359