Traditional Qazaq carpets: territorial and intraethnic features
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69567/Keywords:
Qazaqs, carpets, traditions, ethno-art studies, visualizationAbstract
This article examines the characteristics and specific features of traditional Qazaq carpet art in the context of regions and intraethnic variations. The diverse material accumulated by Russian scholarship demonstrates that the regional and intertribal characteristics of Qazaq carpet weaving are linked to complex processes of ethnic and cultural development. The research methodology is based on the integrated use of comparative, semantic, and art historical analysis. It draws on materials obtained from scholarly works, as well as artifacts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in museum and private collections. A historiographic analysis of the ethnic characteristics of the carpet art of the Turkic-speaking peoples of Central Asia has revealed two main approaches to determining the decisive identifiable markers of carpet weaving. The first approach relies on the study of the gel (Turkmen: flower) composition as a universal code of the Turkic carpet. The second approach can be defined as "differentiating." This approach is based on specific technological techniques, the compositional structure of the ornament, and color scheme. These elements indicate the carpet-weaving preferences of a specific intra-ethnic group. In accordance with the objectives of this article, traditional Qazaq carpets were collected and classified according to territorial and intra-ethnic characteristics. Preliminary structuring of the materials allowed the author to identify three types of Qazaq carpets: ethnoterritorial, tribal, and mixed. The conclusion presents the research findings. The results demonstrate the potential for further research. It is noted that a differentiated approach is productive in studying the specifics of Qazaq carpet weaving from the perspective of ethno-art studies, i.e., at the intersection of art studies and ethnography. This approach takes into account the cultural traditions that accompany ethnogenesis and, accordingly, the system of ethnic codes and their dominant symbols.
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