The Kazakhs’ artistic wood processing used to be one of the common types of home crafts for many centuries. The antiquity of this art is proven by numerous archaeological findings on the territory of Kazakhstan and the Altai. Nomads’ housing – the yurt – cannot be imagined without using wood, because its frame is made of flexible willow tree, called tal in Kazakh.

True masters knew many kinds of wood processing and the people called them ağash usta or ismer with respect. The proverb “a jack-of-all-trades” is about them. In Kazakh language, it sounds very poetic, aptly expressing the talent and virtuosity of the masters. In literal translation, the phrase means “Ten fingers creating art”. The master’s job was greatly valued and his craft was passed down through the generations.

The ancient wooden artifacts are stored in many museums of Kazakhstan. The Kasteev gallery has a whole collection of beautiful exhibits, most of them dated from the end of 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. The art of Kazakh woodcutters is presented in a collection of original furniture, dishes and musical instruments.

Kazakh wooden furniture is distinct with its lightness, small size and ease of transportation, which was especially significant in the nomadic way of life. Only face pieces are decorated with ornaments because, according to the round structure of the yurt, furniture was placed along the latticed wall kerege, with the main emphasis on the visible parts.

The museum collection of Kazakh furniture suggests this craft was developed at the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century. Time had put its mark on the integrity of the products, but did not reduce their artistic value.

The bed – tцsek demands attention with its distinction. In the composition of the Kazakh interior, tцsekağash together with wall carpet tuskiiz is the most honorable place – tцr.

A notable feature of Kazakh furniture is its multifunctional use. An example is the headboard – jastykağash. In the daytime it was used as a removable shelf for bedding, while at night it was turned over and used as a pillow headboard.

The pole-hanger adalbaqan (or tusbakan) was unusually designed. Inside the yurt, the hanger was installed near the door, in the men’s half of the space. It was convenient and practical, not only for adults, but also for children who could hang their clothes and place their belongings on the lower shelf.

The face pieces of china closets – asadal – were richly encrusted. The name is rather symbolic, and means “holy food”. Asadals could be single or double leaf or of mixed type (with doors and drawers).

The collection of the museum has a number of interesting kebezhe – food bags, according to compositional structure and decoration, decorated with rich ornamental compositions.

Decorative wooden rosaces consist of floral pictures – a poetic rethink of the richest flora of Kazakhstan.

Many works from the museum collection have complex ornamental decoration with philosophical and protective symbols. For example, qoshqar muyiz – sheep horn, kusqanat – bird wings, tuyetaban – camel’s trail, цrmekshi – spider had the meaning of mascots.

Cosmic tunes play a special role in the decoration. It is known that much pre-Arabic worship of Central Asia and Kazakhstan had strongly marked astral coloring that was reflected in ornamentation of wood products. The circle (dongelek) is a symbol of the sun and perpetual motion, the cross piece (tцrt kulak) is a four-sided orientation of a light, the spiral is a cycle of life, цtkizbe – twine.

Professional woodcutters were able to do different kinds of carving delicately: flat bossing, cross-cutting (openwork), geometric, contour, sculpture etc. The most common carving was flat bossing with painting. Its distinctive feature is the small cutting depth, same level of ornament and background. Another form of flat bossing is a contour cutting similar to an engraving, which was used for household items. Examples are the best of the museum collection: decoration of face pieces of board for luggage (zhukaiak), food bags (kebezhe), trunks for valuables (sandyk). During cross-cutting (openwork, slotting) the background is completely removed. This gave an effect of thin, light, decorative composition. Sometimes colored strips of another material were used to make color contrast.

Wooden dishes were compulsory accessories of every Kazakh family. Household items were made of wood, rootstock and back lining. Capo dishes were considered valuable due to the strength and density of the wall, and figured wood gave a special ornamentality. Everyday dishes were almost free of ornamentation but on special occasions festive dishes were brought out for honored guests.

A ceremonial set of kumys dishes decorated with rich carvings and silver plates and large colored stone inserts were provided to honored guests.

Ozhau, a ladle for kumys, was cut very stylishly, made of a piece of wood, with particular plastic curved shaped handles, often produced with a hanging ring.

The saptyayak (bowl for rubbing tobacco) from the museum collection is interesting. A bowl is prepared in a slotting-cutting machine and ornamented with swirling rosaces. People used to say with admiration about these craftsmen Agashtan tuyin tuigen, which means “knitting patterns of wood”.

Carving was not the only way to decorate the wood products. Face pieces of china closets, beds and musical instruments were encrusted with bone, often in combination with openwork silver plates. Sometimes red or black cloths were used under bone plates.

All these wood items are authentic works of art, and are part of the nation’s cultural and artistic heritage. Nowadays, the ancient art traditions of ornamental motifs and technological methods of making wood products are still preserved in the works of folk artists in Kazakhstan.

Umitkan Ayazbekova
www.cultofmac.com