State Museum of Applied Art of Uzbekistan
The State Museum of Applied Arts
This Museum was founded in 1927 to exhibit the samples of the best works of Uzbek craftsmen. Soon after, the exhibition obtained the status of a museum, the collection of which was continually being replenished with not only modern but also antique pieces of art. To date, in the Museum there are more than 7,000 pieces of traditional folk art made starting with the mid-19th century. The exposition is changed from time to time: some pieces of art are taken from the store-room in accordance with the subject of exposition.
Among the exhibits, you will find the articles of folk applied art such as embroidery, embossment, jewelry, carpets, woodcarving, ovenware, glassware, textiles and many other things.
The big quadrangular building of the Museum with a courtyard looks very cozy. A more than two centuries old oak is growing in the middle of the courtyard.
The exposition is divided into three groups that are represented by ancient artifacts of various schools, modern articles made with a glance to the traditions and modern original works of authorship.
The Mission of the Museum is to preserve, study and enrich people’s culture as well as show the world the rich history of Uzbek people.
The Museum exposition demonstrates the uniqueness and diversity of cultural heritage of the Republic. Each region has its distinctive style, direction, design and world view; each region of Uzbekistan has always been famous for some priority direction in crafts. Rishtan is renowned for its ceramics, Margilan – for its silk and satin, Bukhara – for its gold embroidery, Khorezm and Kokand – for their arms manufacturing and woodcarving. Tashkent is famous for its ganch carving. The unique artifacts made with extreme care will boggle your imagination. Each exhibit has its own history which is not confined to a certain period of time; these treasures of art will take you deep into the remote past representing various traditions and schools.
The wonderful collection of scull-caps collected throughout the Republic so clearly shows both differences and unity of the peoples that now live and long ago lived in Central Asia. Different in shape and size, design and ornamentation, they sometimes can tell the story of the nation much more informatively than plenty of books!
Catalogues of exhibits are printed and distributed by efforts of the Museum for people to get familiarized more closely with the cultural heritage collected within its walls. The Museum building is unique as well; inside there are special rooms which are the exhibits themselves! They represent the way of life and traditional decoration features of an Oriental house. Many full-length fairytale and historical films were shot in the Museum.
Working hours: 09:00 – 17:00
Day off: open every day
Guided tours: in Uzbek, Russian, English, German and French.
