Uzbek chapan with gold work embroidery (TRC 2015.0176).Last week I attended an international conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, at the kind invitation of the Uzbekistan Embassy in Brussels/The Hague. I told someone about the work of the TRC and at the end of the conference I was given a beautiful collection of local clothing by my host, Mr. Mahmoud Husanovich Babajanov (deputy chairman of the association “Uzpahtasanoat”).

The collection that I was so gracefully presented with includes three women’s dresses of ‘atlas’ (ikat) weave, which will feature well in the planned exhibition on worldwide ikat textiles that the TRC is planning for next year; a gold embroidered cap for a woman (doppe); a hand embroidered and sleeveless chapan for a woman; a hand embroidered chapan for a man (with long sleeves); a pointed cap (doppe) for a man; and a hand embroidered kamarband (bel karz) for a man. The garments are locally produced and some are embellished with goldwork embroidery. They form a great addition to the TRC collection and to the material currently being collected by the TRC for future exhibitions.

Willem Vogelsang, 18 May 2014