Masters
Twelve of our twenty-two masters. Most sell from home: ring before you go. The others can be reached through hunar@korkom.org.
Zarina Ashyrbek kyzy
Shyrdak carpets; the Palace of Art bought her Tört mezgil in 2016. Two apprentices from Kara-Koyun.
Janyl Kadyrkul kyzy
Head of a yurt-making family workshop whose tündük crowns are sold across Central Asia.
Asylbek Toktomushev
Decorated wooden saddles with bone and silver inlay. Six saddles a year, each to order.
Gulnara Kurmanbekova
Felt saddlecloths and ala-kiyiz in the old Aksay colours: madder, walnut and indigo.
Aiperi Sadykova
Köküröktük chest panels and cuffs in silk chain and cross stitch.
Rustam Nazarov
Slip-painted bowls from the old kilns of Sopol-Tepa, fired with walnut wood.
Bolot Isakov
Copper jugs and trays, raised by hand in the workshop his grandfather opened in 1927.
Erkin Mamyrov
Komuz and kyl-kyak from apricot and juniper wood; twenty instruments a year.
Kubanych Abdyrakhmanov
Lattice walls and roof poles in willow, bent over a fire.
Nurlan Sharshenov
Bridles, cruppers and breastplates in leather and silver; restores old saddles for the Palace.
Daniyar Kenesh uulu
Horn-handled knives forged from old lorry springs.
Mahbuba Yusupova
Green-glazed plov dishes and the big lagman bowls of the Lower Naryn teahouses.