The magic of textiles: Horse hair veils from Uzbekistan
TRC 2005.0261). This veil intrigued me because of the material, which was new to me: it is made from horse hair, a stiff and very durable material.
The TRC has a fascinating collection of face veils from different countries. One that has always interested me is a handmade veil from Uzbekistan, dated to the mid-20th century, which is machine embroidered around the edges (Imagine my delight when I recently saw many other Uzbek face veils made from the same material. They are in an art installation now on display at the EYE Film Museum in Amsterdam. The exhibition, called “18,000 Worlds”, is by award-winning Uzbek artist Saodat Ismailova (b. 1981, Tashkent). While she is best known for her films, this exhibition contained many textiles.
The first piece that drew my eye was a long strand of hanging horse hair that almost obscured a neon light that read, in Arabic script, “What was My Name?” (2020). In this piece Ismailova explores the multi-faceted Uzbek identity, combining Arabic, Mongol, Persian, Russian and Uzbek aspects. The language is Uzbek, the script is Arabic, and the horse hair, traditionally used in Uzbek face veils, may have originated in the Mongolian belief that horse hair protects against the evil eye (see also a TRC blog about horse hair veils that used to be worn in Afghanistan, and the TRC online exhibition 'Dressing the Stans').