Julkhirs in Mosque Courtyard - Mudaris Samarkand

 

 Julkhirs Bearskin Rug in Mosque Courtyard Mudaris Samarkand Circa 1910

An Uzbek Julkhirs used as a seating rug in the courtyard of a mosque. Julkhirs in Uzbekistan at the beginning of the 20^th century were documented by Prokudin-Gorskiĭ, Sergeĭ Mikhaĭlovich, 1863-1944, photographer. These early Julkhirs images compliment those shot by Dudin and ethnographic data collected by Moshkova, Semenov and Dudin. Julkhirs were sold at the markets of Bukhara and Samarkand. ¹  "Julkhirs served as floor covering near the hearth or cooking/heating brazier. However, the rug collection of the Uzbekistan Museum of Art contains a julkhirs in the shape of a long, wide runnner, probably intended for a rich mehmankhana (geust house). It is thus possible that rugs of this type were produced not only for purely domestic use but for the market as well."² The fabric merchant of Samarkand and the students in the Mudaris courtyard illustrate how julkhirs were used in a domestic setting, the long pile would provide a more comfortable and soft surface when seated for long periods and explains one reason why julkhirs proved so popular. "The distribution of the julkhirs, designated by identical or similar terms in the Samarqand Oblast, suggests that the geographic extent of this rug type was once rather great, although their production apparantly never exceeded the limits of the local market. " ³

Shoes are not worn whilst seated and books are placed on the rug. Used together with other rugs on the ground. This Julkhirs is new and typical of early 20^th century production.

IMAGES:

1 Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Prokudin-Gorskii Collection, [reproduction number: LC-DIG-prokc-21753 - LC-DIG-prok-11753] Views in Central Asia, Russian Empire, LOT 10338, no. 124.

REFERENCES:

1. Moshkova  V. G.  Carpets of the People of Central Asia  George O’Bannon,  Arizona Lithographers Tucson, Arizona, 1996 p.83 (Dudin noted this sometime between 1910 and 1914.)

2.  ibid., p.83.

3.  ibid., p.83.

Uzbek Julkhirs Samarkand The Turkestan Album 1871 - 1872

 

Julkhirs were woven by semi nomadic Uzbeks and traded at the markets in Bukhara and Samarkand.² Nineteenth Century Julkhirs from Uzbekistan are rare, harsh use on the ground and floor as seating meant that the long shaggy pile of Julkhirs rugs became threadbare quickly. In 1944 and 1946when Moshkova visited the Turkmen Uzbeks of the Nurata basin no new Julkhirs were found and older examples were mostly threadbare.³ Nineteenth century photographs provide tangible evidence of how julkhirs primitive rugs were used. The Library of Congress in Washington houses the collections of The Turkestan Albums 1871 – 1872 and Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii who also photographed life in Uzbekistan between 1907 and 1915. Often Julkhirs are referred to as sleeping or bedding rugs – these Samarkand Julkhirs were used as seating rugs on the floor or the ground alongside other flatwoven rugs, pile rugs, and carpets. Photographic evidence provides a snapshot into the daily use of julkhirs rugs in their original setting.

IMAGE of musician seated on Julkhirs; Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Turkestan Album Collection, Reproduction Number: LC-DIG-ppmsca-14711

1. Moshkova V. G. Carpets of the People of Central Asia (George O’Bannon,  Arizona Lithographers Tucson, Arizona, 1996) 83 (ref Semenov ¹³¹ Dudin ¹³²)

2. ibid., p .112