Lakai Uzbeks (Afghanistan)

Uzbek Lakai tent hanging from Afghanistan. Uzbek Lakai tent hanging from Afghanistan.

The Lakai Uzbeks moved from Central Asia in the north and settled in the Kunduz area of northern Afghanistan, after the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. They are particularly known for their embroidery. Their work is characterised by the use of the cross stitch, and the multi-coloured geometric motifs carried out on bags, belts and bands.

Many of the Lakai embroidered textiles, as for instance the door hangings, were used to ornament the interiors of their yurts, the circular dwellings of so many Central Asian groups.

Sources: PAIVA, Roland, and Bernard DUPAIGNE (1993). Afghan Embroidery, Lahore/Rawalpindi/Karachi: Ferozsons, and Gillian VOGELSANG and Willem VOGELSANG, Encyclopedia of Embroidery from Central Asia, the Iranian Plateau and the Indian Subcontinent (London: Bloomsbury Publishing 2021), p. 221.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 7 June 2016).

WV

Last modified on Monday, 17 May 2021 17:08