NEWS
BEADS AS KEEPERS OF TIME
The museum of folk crafts, located in the old building of the Dashmechet madrasah on the territory of the Kunyaurgench State Historical and Cultural Reserve, houses one of the largest collections of ancient beads in the country.
Many of them were discovered from 2009 to 2020 by the staff of the reserve during various search works on the territory of architectural and archaeological monuments of the Dashoguz velayat, including the ancient city of Izmykshir (Zamakhshara), medieval fortresses - the cities of Shahsenem and Diyarbekir and others. However, the largest number of such rarities was found in the city-fortress Akgala (Adak), which arose in the Middle Ages on the banks of one of the channels of the Daryalyk.
Many cities of ancient Khorezm were located on the Great Silk Road and were famous for their abundant bazaars, where various goods were delivered by caravans from various countries, including, of course, beads.
However, in Chinese sources of the 5th century AD, it is said that good glass was imported to China from Central Asia. It is believed that glass production reached its highest stage of development here in the Middle Ages. Already in these times, glass products of various shapes and decorations were widely produced in Khorezm for various needs, including those used in everyday life and trade, alchemy, medicine, and others. Jewelry craftsmanship and glassmaking were developed here to such an extent that the local population traded glass products even with distant states. Along with this, semi-finished products of glass beads and jugs found on the territory of the region confirm the confidence of the specialists of the Kunyaurgench State Historical and Cultural Reserve that the ancient Khorezmians themselves produced glass. As for, for example, beads made of glass paste, they, in their opinion, were often made from the remains of raw materials for glassware, spherocones, glass flasks and funnels, etc.
Among the exhibits currently in storage, glass beads of various shapes, colors and proportions, transparent and opaque, including chopped beads made of multi-colored glass and glass paste, predominate. There are also kashin beads, covered with glaze of different colors, and beads made of various fake stones and other materials. These products have a variety of shapes, including oval, spherical, cylindrical, polyhedral, ellipsoidal, layered and others. Some beads, belonging to the type of ocellated, served the ancient inhabitants as an amulet or amulet and are intended to ward off the evil eye. Eye beads with eyelashes can also be attributed to the number of rare finds.
Interestingly, the beads also differ in the manufacturing technology itself. So, small beads and beads include products made by cutting a glass tube.
According to local experts, such a rich experience in glassmaking evokes the prospect of reviving this craft, which has a long history in the northern region of Turkmenistan. This would give an additional impetus to the further development of domestic and international tourism here.