Handmade in Uzbekistan
Uzbek Ikat Cushion Cover · Silk velvet · Blue & Red
A plush cushion cover cut from silk velvet (bakhmal) handmade in Margilan, Uzbekistan using ‘abrbandi’, the heritage resist-dyeing technique where the yarns carry the design before the weaving on a traditional loom begins. Woven into velvet, the geometric pattern rendered in red, blue and grey hues takes on depth, the pile catching and holding colour differently depending on the light. Hand-dyed using natural colours by master artisan Azizbek Murtazayev whose work carries the UNESCO Seal of Excellence.
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The Craft. The pattern on this cushion cover is created using abrbandi - the resist-dyeing technique behind Uzbek silk ikat. From abr (cloud), abrbandi is said to have been born when a master dyer, watching clouds break apart on the surface of still water, tried to bind that fractured, drifting edge into thread. Before weaving, sections of silk thread are bound tightly by hand with fibre that resists dye. Where the binding holds, the thread stays undyed; where it doesn't, colour penetrates. Once the bindings are removed and the thread dyed, the pattern already exists in the yarn - it only becomes visible once the threads are stretched and woven on the loom.
The Heritage. Silk has moved through the oasis cities of now Uzbekistan for the better part of two thousand years. Legend holds that the first cocoons reached the Fergana Valley hidden inside the hollow staves of travelling monks, smuggled out of a China that fiercely guarded the secret of silk. By the tenth century, Margilan was already written of as a city of silk, and its weavers were sending khan-atlas - a shot silk prized for the way its colours shift with the light - down the caravan routes to Baghdad, Kashgar, Egypt and beyond. Covering alcoves or draped over bedding, the prestigious ikat fabrics became fashionable in the 19th century, when the designs turned vibrant and elaborate, and new weave structures, like satin and velvet, were introduced. It survived, and in 2017 UNESCO registered Uzbekistan's ikat atlas and adras-making techniques as safeguarding practices, and inscribed silk-making on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Maker. Azizbek Murtazayev left a career in finance abroad to answer the call of his homeland, immersing himself in the old traditions of the Silk Road, and setting up an entirely made by hand ikat workshop in Margilan - his hometown and centuries old centre of silk production. It is colour that holds him. He works with what the Fergana Valley grows to make natural dyes, and has brought back methods Margilan had mostly set down, like block printing. Azizbek leads Marikat, a cooperative of independent ikat masters, dyers and weavers dedicated to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship and cultural values, and their transfer to the next generation. Azizbek’s work carries the UNESCO Seal of Excellence for Handicraft Products.
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AZIZBEK MURTAZAYEV
Azizbek Murtazayev left a career in finance abroad to answer the call of his homeland, immersing himself in the old traditions of the Silk Road, and setting up an entirely made by hand ikat workshop in Margilan - his hometown and centuries old centre of silk production. It is colour that holds him. He works with what the Fergana Valley grows to make natural dyes, and has brought back methods Margilan had mostly set down, like block printing. Azizbek leads Marikat, a cooperative of independent ikat masters, dyers and weavers dedicated to the preservation of traditional craftsmanship and cultural values, and their transfer to the next generation. Azizbek’s work is recognized by UNESCO Seal of Excellence.
