| The folk-appleid art |
 |
 |
 |
|
Decorative applied art mainly covers daily life of Azerbaijanis. The field is divided into two branches in terms of its raw materials (metal, ceramics, textiles and wood) and techniques (carving, casting,minting, weaving). These works embody people’s mentality, daily life, custom and traditions and aesthetic visions. The ornaments on the handicrafts make them more beautiful and they are considered to be decorative art works just because of their ornaments. The various fields of decorative applied art in Azerbaijan include pottery, copper-work, jewelry, weaving, carpet weaving as well as carving on stone and wood. Pottery has been known in Azerbaijan since the Bronze Age. Archeological excavations have found potter’s ovens in Mingechevir, Qabala and Ganja. The most ancient of them was found in Mingechevir and concerns the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age. There are a number of potter’s wares prepared on potter’s wheels of the Bronze Age. According to archeological research, potter’s wares were prepared on wheels and baked in special ovens. More than 20 kinds (churn, jug, pitcher, lamp, bowl, cup) of potter’s wares were made in Azerbaijan. This kind of handicraft was divided into a few branches (earthenware, brick making etc. Guba, Khachmaz, Oguz and Qabala specialized in pottery. During medieval times fine compositions of pottery, particularly those reflecting human, animal and natural images were popular. For example, a ceramic vessel made in the early 14th century in Sultaniyye, Southern Azerbaijan, devoted to the poem Khosrov and Shirin by Nizami Ganjevi, is now in a collection in London. Pottery developed in the 19th and 20th centuries and was sold or bartered. Items for daily use enjoyed a large market before industry developed, but with the arrival of mass production interest in hand-made ceramics fell. Some items for daily use in Azerbaijan are still made by master potters. At the moment this ancient art is successfully developed in Guba, Khachmaz and Oguz regions of Azerbaijan. The potters create valuable art works which charm the foreign and local community. Jewelry is a widespread decorative art. Decorative items found in archeological excavations in Mingechevir, Yaloylutepe. Khojali, Qabala and Ismayilly show that jewellery has a long history and played a big role in daily life. The main items are rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets and different kinds of beads. The bronze belts found in Mingechevir and Khojali (third millennium BC) as well as a gold bowl (9th-8th centuries BC), dug out in Hasanlu near the lake of Urmiya, and an apron (8th century BC) found in the region of Ziviya are classic pieces of jewellery. During the period of Caucasian Albania (4th century BC to 8th century AD) jewellery was a leading field of the economy. During medieval times a new stage began in the development of this art. European travelers and diplomats have left a wealth of information about the development of jewellery-making in Azerbaijan. Decorative items such as bracelets, rings, belts and knick-knacks were very common in that period. For example, the golden belt of Safavid ruler Shah Ismayil I, kept in the museum of Topqapi, Istanbul, has interested international scholars for many years. Jewellery developed well in the 19th and 20th centuries and Azerbaijani master craftsmen made different ornamental items in metal. Research shows that jewellery was particularly developed in Nakhichevan, Shamakhi, Lahij, Ganja, Baku and Shusha. The majority of jewellery items consisted of women’s ornamental items, such as rings with or without precious stones, earrings, necklaces etc. this ancient art continues to develop today. One of the streets in Baku is called Zargarpalan, because it used to have many jewellery workshops. Fine ornamental pieces for women made by Azerbaijani master by Azerbaijani master craftsmen can be seen in Azerbaijan’s museums. Copper-smithing is an ancient handicraft, widespread in Azerbaijan. Since the end of the second millennium BC copper wares have been used widely. In medieval times there were copper-smithing quarters in the bazaars and forums of Azeri cities such as Baku, Ganja, Shamakha and Quba. The centre of metalwork in this period was Tabriz. Marco Polo, the Venetian traveler who visited Azerbaijan in the second half of the 13th century, dealt in copper wares. A figurative vase (1319), one of the well-known works of that time, is at present in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Lahij, a village in Ismayilli district, was the centre of copper-smithing in Azerbaijan in the 18th-19th centuries. Copper jugs, vases and cauldrons made by Lahij master craftsmen were renowned in the Caucasus, Turkey and Iran. One of the oldest samovars in the former USSR was made in 1717-18 by master craftsman Najafqulu from Lahij. About 200 workshops are thought to have been operating in the mid-19th century. In the early 19th century the experience of the master craftsmen of Lahij was put into practice in the arms plant of Izhevsk. Today copper-smithing is still practiced in Lahij, passed down through the generations. Armour-making in the Caucasus embodies centuries of experience and the skills of oriental armor masters. Adorned with many artistic and technically superb decorations, Caucasian weaponry constitutes a truly unique phenomenon in the culture of the Orient. Silver was the material most widely used in the Caucasus to decorate weaponry. Caucasian pistols and guns, despite the simple technology of their manufacture, were of excellent constructional design and high-firing power. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Caucasian pistols and rifles earned fame and popularity throughout the Orient. Caucasian firearms were sumptuously and lavishly decorated: the barrels were adorned with gold damascene; the gunstocks, straight and narrow, were made of plane and nut wood, inlaid with bone, silver or woods of different species. The bands used to secure the barrel and stock were often made of solid with engraving. The inscribed names of the gunsmith and/or owner of the weapon, enclosed in decorative cartouches, served as an elegant addition to the artistic ornamentation of the piece. In the 19th and early 20th centuries Caucasian armor masters produced a special kind of cavalry sword, the so-called shashka, or “long knife”, which resembled a saber but with the blade only slightly curved and without a cross-guard. In the late Middle Ages hauberks, breastplates, armlets, leggings and greaves, shields and sabers and all kind of halberds and helmets were produced. Used by warriors, these weapons and armor were both made in Azerbaijan and imported. Carpet-weaving is an ancient art in Azerbaijan. According to archeological excavations on Azerbaijani territory and to literary sources, carpet-weaving was conceived in ancient times. A 10th century manuscript by an unknown author, Khudu-Al-Alem, says that the Azerbaijani town of Mugan was famous for its chuvals and palliases; the towns of Nakhichevan, Khoy and Salmas for zili, khali and sashes; Ardebil and Shirvan for coloured silk and woolen textiles. Well-known historiographer Abu Jafar Muhammad at-Tabari in the 10th century said that carpets of high quality were manufactured in northeastern Azerbaijan. Historian and traveler Al Mukaddassi, describing the Azerbaijani town of Barda and its market in the 10th century, noted “the silk and clothes have no equals in the world”. In the 13th century Venetian traveler Marco Polo wrote “there are many skilful craftsmen, producing textiles, carpets and sabers all over the world in Azerbaijan”. In the 13th-14th centuries Azerbaijan jewelry and carpets attracted European, especially Venetian merchants. Dealers, travelers and ambassadors from different countries exported carpets from Azerbaijan as commodities and presents. Azerbaijani carpets can be found on the canvases of famous European artists. In the 16th-17th centuries, in the epoch of the Safavids the Azerbaijani art of carpet-making developed rapidly. In this period Tabriz, Ardabil, Shamakhi, Baku, Ganja and Barda were considered to be the centers of carpet-weaving. The Sheikh Safi carpet, a masterpiece of carpet-weaving, was made in this period. This rare work of art was woven in 1539 by Azeri carpet-makers and given to the mosque of Sheikh Sefieddin in Ardabil. In 1893 it was sold to the Victoria & Albert Museum. It is the biggest carpet of the 16th century: 10.51m long and 5.34m wide, a total area of 56.21m2. |