The most amazing thing is that you will be delighted to see more than a hundred ceramic objects of various shapes, ready to bake like hot bread in the oven.
The most amazing thing is that you will be delighted to see more than a hundred different types of ceramic objects ready to bake like hot bread in the oven. These miracles created from four “combinations” of earth, fire, water, and manual labor are a source of amazement. The oven is surrounded by a flower garden. The rows of rooms connected by carved wooden pillars, and the embroidered souzanas surrounding the verandas, add even more beauty to the courtyard.
We were greeted by a 95-year-old mother, Muboshira Barakayeva, who had thrown an unfinished embroidery over her shoulder and was gazing at the silk scarf tied around her forehead, her face shining with radiance.
“My sons Alisherjon and Abdullajon became the pillars of their gracious father, the successors of our dynasty. Both of them achieved many results, one after the other. But this diploma of Alisherjon is the most beautiful of all his achievements,” says the mother, caressing her 70-year-old master son as if he were a young child.
Yes, Muboshira aya welcomes the fact that Alisher Narzullayev, who has dedicated his life to ceramics, won the main prize - the International Grand Prix - at the “International Exhibition of Fine Arts” held in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon every day as if her son had received a new award. “Here is his diploma,” says the mother, repeating it over and over again with joy and pride.
As she hugged Muboshira aya, Alisher aka laughed in his mind:
“My mother was more excited than anyone else when I won the Grand Prix. "At this exhibition, where more than a hundred craftsmen from Germany, France, the Czech Republic, Israel, Azerbaijan, Russia, Iran and other countries participated with their works, only my pottery products from Central Asia were highly appreciated," he says.
Muboshira Aya gently places the needle she has tucked into her silk scarf on the needle and says, "Come, my child, I will tell you a secret." We kneel next to the old woman.
"The times of the former Soviet Union," the old woman continues, "were 1979-1980, if I am not mistaken. The policy of completely destroying ancient traditions did not spare the potters either. In the Gijduvan district alone, more than forty pottery workshops were closed. When the time came, the shops were destroyed, and thousands of ceramic pots were broken as relics of old age. However, in such painful times, my husband, Ibodullo Narzullayev, a fifth-generation representative of the potter's dynasty, diligently set about preserving the craft inherited from his ancestors. He could not stand by and watch as traditional pottery with a history of almost 300 years was simply closed.
He fought. He also faced obstacles and pressure. However, despite the precariousness of the times, he managed to achieve such a result as building a workshop in our yard. Together with his teacher Usmon Umarov, he tried to develop the traditions of pottery and teach them to his descendants. And he succeeded. We, the women, were engaged in embroidery and patdozi. My sons, however, took their father's profession to the highest heights...
After listening to the story of their mother, we went to see the house-museum. The "House-Museum named after Ibodullo Narzullayev" was established in honor of the father. This complex includes a pottery museum, an exhibition hall, workshops in applied arts such as pottery, embroidery and carpet weaving, a kitchen where our national dishes are served, rooms for master classes for guests, and a hotel. Alisher Narzullayev said that the family's national pottery museum complex is included in the international tourist route.
