UZBEKISTAN, LATE 19TH CENTURY

Known locally as ghudjeri, these highly decorated kilims were made for domestic use by nomadic Uzbeks in northern Afghanistan and Uzbekistan in the villages to the west of Mazar-i-Sharif, near Balkh and Aq Chah, (A. Hull, and J.Luczyc-Wyhowska, Kilim, The Complete Guide, London, 1993, pp.264-5, fig.504). They were woven in long bands, cut into strips between 160cm. and 210cm. in length and then sewn together in the same way as a Persian jajim. The decoration is warp-faced, with long loose warps at the back and their ornamentation points to a pre-lslamic, shamanistic source filled with complex, ancient motifs predominantly woven in a palette of red, yellow, ivory and black. The dramatic patterns that alternate in direction and colour create an exuberant display of vibrancy. Previously unclassified, Dr. Claudius Giese explored this group of Central Asian flat weaves in an exhibition, ‘The Unknown Uzbek Ghudjeri-Kilim’, held in 2002 at the Ethno-Textil Gallery in Bremen, where fifty examples woven between 1850-1950 were on display, (HALI, Issue 121, p.125).