Application
A significant place in the decoration of felt products among the Kyrgyz is occupied by appliqué. This decorative technique is much simpler than mosaic. It can be considered ancient in the art of decorating felt. Appliqué has developed significantly among the Kyrgyz belonging to the ichkilik group. They have preserved more archaic techniques to this day. In the eastern part of the region, appliqué was also present in the decoration of the yurt. Modern artisans or enthusiasts of handmade products can purchase the necessary materials and components for handicrafts at markets, stores, or on the website shtuki.ua/furnitura, but in the last century, each craftswoman made all the details herself. Several types of appliqués have emerged, apparently at different times: appliqué with colored felt, leather, cloth, cotton fabric, and velvet.
Appliqué can be found on felt coverings for the lattice frame of the yurt — tutuu (tuurduk). The pattern was cut from dark-colored red felt and sewn onto the edge of the "tutuu" or onto a felt strip that was stitched on. This decorative strip is called tutuu bash, i.e., the top of the "tutuu." The contours of the patterns were edged with colored cord. Due to the fact that the pattern is made from thin, tightly rolled felt, the appliqué gives the impression of mosaic at first glance.
Felt appliqué patterns are similar to patterns characteristic of felt mosaic but have some uniqueness. This primarily applies to those that decorate the "tutuu bash" and resemble sprawling branches without strict symmetry. These patterns are more typical for the western part of the Osh region.
The second common type of felt products with felt appliqué is the hanging door in the yurt — etyk tysh, to which the Kyrgyz have always paid great attention. The door was made from white felt, and the pattern was cut from thin felt of blue or red color. The contours of the pattern were framed with colored cord (raspberry, red, pink). The ornamented felt hanging door particularly attracts attention with its sharply contrasting colors and the compositional arrangement of the patterns used in the decoration of the hanging felt door.
Among the southern Kyrgyz, it was customary after the death of the head of the family to sew a pattern cut from black or blue felt onto the white felt covering the entrance to the yurt, based on a motif of a curl or a trefoil. Appliqué made from various colored materials decorated various household felt bags, as well as bags used to cover the ends of the dome poles of the yurt and the ends of the assembled links of its lattice frame during migration. Red cloth and red cotton fabric were most commonly used in appliqué. Appliqué made from red cloth was often found on felt carpets laid on the ground, on items related to riding and pack transport (various covers), as well as on decorative strips called "dzhabyk bash." The ornamental motifs on these items are usually arranged in the form of a border, where the appliqué pattern is identical to the background pattern.
The systematization of the known materials according to the technique of rolling patterns, mosaics, and appliqué in the southern regions allows us to say that these methods are known to all Kyrgyz to some extent. If the Kyrgyz who identify themselves with the ichkilik group do not use mosaic techniques, they do use felt appliqué. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Kyrgyz produced ornamented felt items on a large scale, which constituted one of the main elements of the decoration of nomadic dwellings and gave them a distinctive expression. For all groups of the Kyrgyz population, settled over a vast territory, there is a notable unity of ornamental motifs. The most vivid expressions among them are found in motifs of horns, trefoils, and wavy lines with branches in various combinations. The color solutions in the production of various felt items are also identical. All these artistic techniques find the greatest similarity in Kazakh folk art.
