Artistic Crafts: Traditions and Modernity
The decorative and applied arts of various territorial groups of Kyrgyz people have much in common, as well as some local peculiarities. The southern regions are characterized by pile and non-pile weaving with polychrome patterns on a light background and special stitches (on women's headwear and household decoration items). The southern Kyrgyz of the ichkilik group are almost unfamiliar with patterned felt, embroidered wall carpets (tush kiyiz); they have a weak development of weaving patterned mats from chiy, leather embossing; techniques such as blackening and enamel in metal processing are not practiced. In the northern part of the country, pile weaving, embroidery on women's headwear, and complex decorative stitches are absent, while the production of patterned felt carpets, ornamented leather products, richly ornamented mats made from chiy and colored wool, and the use of appliqué with colored fabric on felt for decorative items of nomadic dwellings and wall carpets are widespread. Local peculiarities are determined by tribal differences in the past, as well as cultural interactions with neighboring peoples: northern Kyrgyz are closer to Kazakhs, while southern Kyrgyz are closer to Uzbeks, Tajiks, and the peoples of Eastern Turkestan.
The main groups of ornamental motifs found in Kyrgyz decorative art reflect the ethnogenetic processes and historical-cultural connections of the people. Palmettes, semi-palmettes, cross-shaped figures, horn-like motifs, "waves" with curls, and some other motifs that adorn products made of leather, wood, and metal were widely spread among the nomads of the steppe zone in the Middle Ages, but some individual elements are known even earlier, for example, in Sogdian ornamentation of the 7th-8th centuries. Circles, octagons, large crosses, complex rhombuses on carpet products and mats made from chiy, as well as floral and generally plant motifs, complex rosettes in embroidery were also common among the settled population of Central Asia. The simplest geometric patterns (squares, whirlpool rosettes, intersecting squares, chevrons, etc.), found on wooden items, partly in embroidery and products made from felt, are less common but are perhaps among the oldest - some of them are found on items from the early Bronze Age. Symbolic solar signs, meanders, and cloud-like patterns are common throughout the Central and East Asian region.
Currently, the number of folk craftsmen in various fields of decorative and applied art is large across the country, although the diversity of types of home production is decreasing, while modern life conditions lead to the creation of previously unknown products in a folk style.
Even today, a mandatory gift from older relatives on the occasion of a family celebration or housewarming is new shyrdaks, ala kiyiz, tush kiyiz, pile carpets, and traditional woven products. There are now few jewelers working in the old manner, and their assortment is mainly limited to women's jewelry. Jewelry craftsmanship is transitioning to a professional level, with modern styles and forms emerging, and work is being done with new materials.
Decorative and Applied Art