Made & Told Launches its Central Asian Artisans Website

Kyrgyz hand felted and hand sewn shyrdak - cushion cover

Made & Told, the brainchild of Mary Mitchell, is a unique online concept that supports artisans across Central Asia.

Mitchell, a journalist and filmmaker who has worked in Central Asia, is committed to promoting and supporting traditional craft from the region. What makes her concept so special is that alongside the products, mainly home wares,  there is an accompanying video so you can watch the making of the item and listen to the artisan's story.

All the products are sourced directly from artisans, and 50% of the profits are donated to organisations working with artisans and entrepreneurs in Central Asia.

Mitchell's goal is to generate income for craftsmen and women and give them the opportunity to have their stories heard and their work admired worldwide.

The online Uzbek range includes plates from Rishtan, suzanis from Shakrisabz and ikat from Margilan. The Kyrgyz cushion covers are either felted or made with antique embroidery. Custom orders are possible now and the product range will expand.  International shipping rates are not yet published on the site. However, if you contact Mary Mitchell at info@madeandtold.com she will be able to quote.

Do visit the Made & Told shop to view the products and watch the artisans. This is a venture well worth supporting.

The video below [3:23 mins] features Sadagul who made the magnificent felted cushion covers above. She lives in Kochkor, Kyrgyzstan, and was taught how to make shydraks by her mother and grandmother when she was a girl, and has made them ever since. (If the video does not display in your device, please visit http://vimeo.com/53462587)

Related post: Blue Ceramics of Rishtan, Ferghana Valley

Pablo Picasso and Nadejda Kashina Exhibition in Tashkent

Plate from the Picasso ceramic exhibition, Tashkent

Until 10 January 2013, visitors to Tashkent's Fine Arts Museum have a chance to view a small, though exceptional collection of Pablo Picasso's ceramics. This exhibition has been paired with strong ink drawings of Nadeja Kashina. Her expressive graphics are reminiscent of Picasso's, whose work she greatly admired.

The back story of this exhibition is intriguing: after the death of French artist Fernand Léger in 1955, his Belarussian-born widow, Nadia Khodossevitch, donated many works from their private collection to the Soviet government. (Both Léger and Khodossevitch were communists).

The Soviet government distributed art works to museums throughout the USSR, and the 12 Picasso ceramics ended up in Tashkent, where they were exhibited in the 1960s. After that it seems they were placed in storage and, over time, forgotten. In 2004, while sorting through boxes, museum staff unearthed these priceless pieces.

Nadejda Kashina, Musicians, ink drawing

The ceramics - plates, jugs and bowls -  were all produced in the Madoura ceramic workshop in Vallauris, France. Inspired by his portfolio of sketches, Picasso collaborated with the Madoura team from 1946 - 1970 producing around 630 pieces.  The pieces on display in Tashkent were made in 1960 -1961.

Nadejda Kashina, whose drawings form part of this exhibition, was born in the Russian city of Perm in 1896 and moved to Tashkent in the late 1920s, after studying in Moscow. Kashina wrote that what attracted her in Central Asia were 'colouring, type and the huge amount of untouched topics'. Her Samarkand paintings in particular are bright and vibrant.

Nadejda Kashina, Woman with Star, ink drawing

In this Tashkent exhibition, ink drawings done in the 1970s, shortly before her death, are displayed. Picasso's influence is striking.

For travellers on Uzbek Journeys tours, you have a chance to view Kashina's avant-garde paintings at the Savitsky collection in Nukus.

As an interesting aside, the Savitksy collection includes 79 classical sculptures replicated for Léger in the Louvre, and given to Savitksy for his collection. Although not of particular interest to foreign visitors, this collection forms an important part of the Nukus museum's education program for schools.


Related posts:  Paolo Veronese's Lamentation of Christ Discovered in Tashkent
Alexander Volkov: Of Sand and Silk
Igor Savitksy, Founder of the Karakalpakstan Museum, Nukus
Desert of Forbidden Art

Autumn in Uzbekistan

Road leading to the yurts. Image courtesy Richard Marshall

Autumn is especially lovely in Uzbekistan. Not only are the poplars and fruit trees golden, it is harvest time: the fruit is bountiful and the vegetables delicious.

The sky is the same astonishing blue, though perhaps a little paler. The days milder and the evenings fresh. Even the road leading to the Ayaz Kala yurt camp is lined in autumnal splendour, while just one kilometre away the yurts stand in the desert's red sands.

The grapes in the Ferghana Valley are plump and sweet. The markets throughout the country are stacked high with succulent melons, persimmons, plums, figs, pomegranates and peaches. Strangers, enraptured by the taste of white melon, will offer you a slice as you walk by.

Grapes are an autumn treat. Image courtesy Richard Marshall

Autumn is also the time of the cotton harvest: Uzbekistan is the world's second-largest cotton exporter and fifth largest producer. Cotton is hand picked and the fields are full of villagers picking Uzbek 'white gold'.

For city dwellers, autumn is when theatres and concert halls re-open after the intense summer heat. Museums change their exhibtions. Tashkent, Samarkand and Ferghana parks are draped in gold: families picnic and play by the canals. Tashkent's Botanical Garden, now a little unkempt, is a riot of reds and yellows.

A bridal party takes to the amusement park, Nukus. Image: Richard Marshall

It is also a popular season for weddings. Very young women (usually around 20 years) and men (around 22 years), dressed in finery, parade around the towns with family and friends, visiting shrines, monuments and places of interest for countless photo sessions.

Uzbek Journeys has just added an extra autumn tour to Uzbekistan from 30 September - 15 October 2013 and a range of new tours to the Ferghana Valley. Why not consider joining?

Related post: Exploring Tashkent's Botanical Gardens with Ada Alexandrovna 

The Jabborov Rope Walking Family of Khiva

The Jabborov brothers, rope walkers

In the courtyard of the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrassah, inside the ancient, baked brick walls of Khiva, is the chance to see a thrilling rope walking performance.

Coming from dor, meaning 'tightened rope' and boz, meaning 'play or demonstration', dorboz have performed along the Silk Road for centuries. The word “dorboz” was first recorded in lexicographer Mahmud al-Kashgari’s Compendium of the Languages of the Turks, written in 1072, and defined as “doing tricks on top of a rope.”

Nowruz, the spring festival held on 21 March, is the stepping day to spring, and thus dorboz traditionally arrange performances at Nowruz to celebrate their glorious art and demonstrate how nimbly they step, leap and run across the rope. Sometimes blindfolded, sometimes balancing other dorboz on their head and shoulders.

In 1955, a rope walking troupe from Andijon, in the Ferghana valley, visited Khiva. Master dorboz Odiljon Khakimov invited local youths to demonstrate their skills.

Qadamboy Jabborov, then aged 13, so impressed the master that he joined the troupe's next port of call  in Dashoghuz, Turkmenistan, after which he was accepted into the company.

A musical number during the performance!

He spent the next five years honing his art and entertaining audiences with his daring feats on the rope. In 1960 Qadamboy returned to Khiva to set up his own dorboz troupe. His eldest son, Bahrom, was naturally gifted and began training in various sports to gain the endurance, strength and agility required.

Bahrom has subsequently led his sons Alimardon, Ramazon and Khuaybergan through a similar, rigorous training program to perfect what has now become the family tradition. Even four-year old Sadiana is included in the performance, though she must wait until she is six before she can perform solo.

Sadiana, 4 years old, joins the family business

And it is not simply rope walking that dorboz learn. They also play various traditional instruments such as the karnay and drums. Dorboz are usually dressed in traditional national costume, either brightly coloured or white shirts and black trousers, tucked into soft leather boots.

On an Uzbek Journeys tour you have the chance to view a dorboz performance by the Jabborov family. A show is US$35 for a minimum of 10 people. Even if you are travelling solo this would still be $35 well spent. Just drop by the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrassah and arrange a time.



Related posts: Uzbekistan's Circus Traditions
Khiva's Open-Air Cinema
Celebrating Nowruz - Spring New Year 
Khiva's Sunday Markets

Images in this post are courtesy of Janet Richardson, who travelled with Uzbek Journeys in May 2012.