POTTERY

The Khorezm pottery has centuries-old history. Traditions, art process and the originality of
this kind of workmanship are surprising. Potters make of clay pialas, Ijagans, saucers, jugs, tandyrs,
bowls, basins, vases, various toys, building materials. Pottery widely spread in all over the world.
Originally women were engaged in this craft, after the invention of a potter's wheel men started to
be engaged in this process.
Since XIV century pottery began to develop vary fast. Koshin - manufacturing of brick
mosaic tiles is a separate beautiful, but laborious kind of Khorezm pottery. Koshins were used for
decoration of walls, ceilings and domes. For example, tomb of Pahlavan Mahmud, palace of Tash
hovli, medrese of Allakulihan, palace of Kuhna Ark is trimmed by koshins. They were decorated
with masters of those times - Odina Muhammad Murad, Sufi Muhammad Nijaz, Abdulla Dzhin.
Presently traditions of their art and skill are fruitfully used at furnish of buildings and constructions.
The Basic raw material for pottery was clay. Clay may be different: sog tuprok (pure clay),
black, blue and red Clay is a peculiar material, for manufacturing subjects of various purpose
various kinds of this raw material are applied also:
Sershirali - clay with smack, elastic
White clay semi faience, with addition of black clay and potash.
Koshin clay - with addition of quartz ashes for manufacturing koshins - mosaics.
Pat loj (coarse clay) - with addition of cane dust in pure clay, is applied to manufacturing of
tadyrs.
Rahimbergan Matchanov is a potter who played an important role in development of
Khorezm potter's school of XX century. He studied to produce kashins at well-known masters -
brothers Artyk and Abidjan Jakubovs, Jusuf Tadzhi palvan, Yusuf kulol, Bolta Vaisov, Vais kulol,
Nurmuhammad Tashpulat laganpaz, Madrahim Madamin ogly, Iskandar Kalandar ogly. Works of
master R. Matchanov are constantly exposed in expositions museums of Moscow, Leningrad,
Tashkent and Khiva. An ornament of exposition of «Ichan Kala» reserve-museum of Khiva is
products for house use of the Khivan ceramic factory which has started to work in 1977. As a whole
927 ceramic exhibits are kept in fund of the museum.