There is more to Bukhara than mosques
September 16 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
After lots of mosques and madrassas yesterday, today's focus is on Bukhara's arts and handicrafts scene.
Bukhara is famous for the ancient art of gold embroidery using gold thread and jewellery making.
Wander into Bukhara’s domed bazaars and quiet madrassa courtyards, and one could almost get this Silk Road feeling - the city is alive and in the hands of its master artisans, or masters as our guide calls them. Apparently, these aren’t souvenir shops; they are living lineages of craft, where every geometric tile, beaten copper tray, and woven Suzani carries centuries of patience, pride, and soul.
Bukhara is famous for
☝️Gold Embroidery (apparently
Bukhara is the historic epicentre of Central Asian gold embroidery)
☝️Suzani (needle) & fine silk embroidery
☝️Blacksmithing, Metal Chasing & Knife making - Stork-Shaped Scissors are the thing
☝️Ceramic Pottery
☝️Carpet Weaving (Silk & Wool)
☝️Miniature Painting & Calligraphy
But cynical us, we have our doubts on the authenticity as the objects all look remarkably similar. Or shall I say 'the same'?
Anyhow, this morning we visited the workshop of Uzbekistan's most recognised master in Gold Embroidery- Jumayev Baxshullo Shirinovich - who is formally recognised in Uzbekistan’s National Catalogue of Folk Applied Art Masters. Lots of framed certificates adorn one wall of his workshop.
He represents the sixth generation of a celebrated Bukharan embroidering 'dynasty'. His grandfather served as the guild master of the emir’s royal gold embroiderers. We are all impressed when Jumayev talks about his work to document the art and history of gold- embroidery and his efforts to revive independent artisan guilds after Independence. During Soviet times, he and his wife were working in an embroidery factory. After independence he established the very first private gold embroidery workshop in Bukhara, creating a blueprint for other traditional artisans to operate independently.
His workshop is especially renowned for monumental decorative panels and ceremonial robes. Their masterpiece is the curtains of Tashkent's national theatre (70 x 20m). Just to make the paper pattern for this took two years. 140 people worked to complete the embroidery.
They are the biggest embroidered curtains in Tashkent.
During the demonstration he explains that there are two primary methods of embroidery
☝️zaminduzi - dense, solid background embroidery using gold or gilded-silver threads with about 50 to 60 stitches per 1 sq cm
☝️ gulduzi - relief embroidery over intricate, hand-cut cardboard patterns with about 26 stitches per 1 sq cm
Jumayev is responsible for designing the motifs and preparing the paper pattern which form the basis for the embroidery. His wife, who also has been working in the embroidery factory during Soviet times, is patiently getting on with the stitching.
To produce the gold thread a thin gold metal wire is twisted around a soft silk thread. These days they only use 5pc gold, instead of the 30 pc used at the time of the emirs. But even this supple gold thread is too coarse to repeatedly pull back and forth through heavy velvet without fraying, therefore Bukharan embroiderers never pull it through the fabric. Instead, they lay the gold thread exclusively on the top surface and tack it down with tiny, invisible stitches of ordinary yellow silk - clearly visible when watching the woman demonstrating her work. The results are just magnificent!
After the gold-embroidery, we have a look at the jewellery making workshop of his son - Nodir - next door. Nodir is also highly celebrated as a master jeweller. There are some beautiful pieces but absolutely not my style.
We also watched some metal engraving artists. It's amazing how these artisans can punch intricate geometric and floral patterns into sheet brass or copper with their small steel chisels and a specialized hammer.
After spending the morning at various artisan workshops, we travel 4km outside of Bukhara to visit the summer palace of the Emir.
Sitorai Mohi Hosa aka the Palace of the Stars and Moon, showcases the opulence of the last emirs.
The summer palace was built between 1912 and 1918 and stands out as an eclectic fusion of traditional Central Asian craftsmanship and Imperial Russian architecture with imported materials and furniture from Germany, France and Italy highlighting the cosmopolitan court of the Emir.
The first building we enter holds the emir's reception and living rooms - chess room, banquet hall and tea house. All the rooms have fabulous silk and gold embroidery and display cutting-edge novelties as colour glass, ceramic fireplaces and tiles imported from Germany, chandeliers from Austria and furniture from France and St Petersburg.
The summer palace even used to have a zoo but the elephants and tigers were taken to Moscow Circus in 1923 - only some sad looking peacocks remained.
When Soviet forces took Bukhara in 1920, Alim Khan, the last Emir, fled to Afghanistan, leaving his luxurious palace behind. He eventually died in Kabul in 1944.
After the palace tour, we have enough time for lunch before heading to the train station for our journey to Samarkand.
It's a pretty boring train ride - nothing much to see apart from desert, some mountains in the distance, the odd gas plant and a few goat herds.
We get to Samarkand just in time for dinner, i.e. more food 🙈Read more