Harmony of Space. Traditional Art of Azerbaijan

April 11 - May 12, 2019

Opening Day: 10 April at 19.00

Moscow, Nikitsky Boulevard, 12a

The State Museum of Oriental Art and the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum present the exhibition Harmony of Space. Traditional Art of Azerbaijan.

More than a hundred objects of decorative and applied arts from the collections of the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum (Baku) and the State Museum of Oriental Art will be displayed in the halls on Nikitsky Boulevard.

The exhibition hall is intended to narrate about the features of the traditional interior of the 19th – early 20th-centuries Azerbaijani houses; mainly about the role of carpets and textile in creating a harmonious space, where everything is subordinated to the perfect idea of beauty. Design and ornaments on carpets, embroideries, clothes, copper utensils, and jewelry carry the aesthetics of peoples’ environment that have been forming for centuries and testify to a single characteristic national style.

Museum visitors will be able to enjoy exhibits from the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum’s rich collection, associated with the wedding ceremony, the essential elements of the traditional dowry, various types of embroidery – from decorative panels, niche curtains, lambrequins, bedcovers, and tablecloths to all kinds of cases, accessories, and wardrobe items. These are, in particular, the late 19th-century niche curtains, combining gurama (patchwork), chain embroidery, and sequin embroidery; the 19th-century fireplace lambrequins, which are amazing in their ornamental complexity; the 19th – early 20th-century mustache guards in gold embroidery. The whole showcase will display tools and other attributes related to the production of kelaghai – head covers with a print.

A special part of the exhibition displays the items related to beliefs – from prayer rugs to traditional amulets. The 19th-century prayer rug, decorated in satin stitch embroidery and gold embroidery; the panel (1913), a significant part of which is designed with religious inscriptions; as well as a collection of gold embroidery cases for prayer stones, are exceptional.

Jewelry and copper dishes – pitchers, bowls, and trays decorated with delicate ornaments, are among the exhibits from the State Museum of Oriental Art’s collection. Ambassadorial tablecloths compose a special group of exhibits. They were used during palace receptions in honor of foreign ambassadors (hence the name) and also presented to diplomats and other foreign guests as special luxurious items. The Karabakh’s 19th-century Bahmanli carpet is the exhibition’s essential item. It is the first exhibit of the State Museum of Oriental Art’s collection, obtained in 1918.

The exhibition Harmony of Space. Traditional Art of Azerbaijan will reveal the audience about the Azerbaijani people’s ancient culture, its harmony, and beauty, composed by this beautiful country’s masters of decorative and applied arts.

Organizers – Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the Russian Federation, State Museum of Oriental Art’s, and Azerbaijan Carpet Museum.

Curators: Shirin Melikova, Maria Filatova

Accreditation: Natalia Borisova, 8-495-690-05-23, press@orientmuseum.ru

Photos: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6tqfj3rxfydry4p/AADfSVBvX-4aw_sJHurUUiyKa?dl=0