“LA BICYCLETTE PÈNETRÈ À LA CAMPAGNE” AISPSC-100).
Uzbekistan, c.1920s.
French period postcard. By the late nineteenth century, bicycles had been introduced into Central Asia, although they were still a novelty that attracted crowds of onlookers.
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“A MAN FROM BUKHARA” (AISPSC-101).
Uzbekistan, c.1920s.
German period postcard. The man is wearing a striped bekasab rope; his camel is a two-humped Bactrian, the type of camel best-suited for the harsh extremes of Central Asian climate.
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“SAMARKAND STREET TYPES” (AISPSC-102)
Uzbekistan, c.1915.
Russian period postcard. The man in the orange robe is smoking a water pipe that another man holds for him. Water pipes were often shared in this way by a group of men in a social setting, such as a teahouse.
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“TYPES OF CENTRAL ASIA” (AISPSC-103).
Uzbekistan, c.1910.
Russian period postcard. An imported porcelain teapot and bowl, water ewer, melons, flatbread, and hookah are laid out on a long woven mat called a “dastarkhan”.
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“PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE UZBEK GIRL” (AISPNB-104) Uzbekistan, 1929.
Russian period postcard. Photograph by I.N. Panov.
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“PORTRAIT OF A LITTLE UZBEK BOY" (AISPNB-105) Uzbekistan, 1929
Russian period postcard. Photograph by I.N. Panov.
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“FAMILY OF BUKHARA” (AISPSC-106) Bukhara, Uzbekistan. c.1890s. Russian period postcard (c.1910). The woman is holding a water pipe (chillim) – women enjoyed smoking them as much as men. The pose and props in this photograph are evocative of an Orientalist painting. Photograph by A. Engel.
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"THREE MEN OF BUKHARA" (AISPNB-107) Bukhara, Uzbekistan. c.1890s. Russian period postcard (c.1910). The men are wearing layers of robes as was the custom – the man on the right wears a striped “bekasab” robe over a Russian printed-cotton robe. The photograph may have been taken at the Turki-Dzhandi mazar. (Note the stork’s nest atop the tower.)
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“BUKHARAN WAGON” (AISPSC-108)
Bukhara, Uzbekistan. 1880s.
This horse-drawn wooden cart (called an “arba” or an “araba”) was the standard means of local transport for heavy goods as well as people. The enormous wooden wheels enabled the cart to navigate through deep mud and water. Photograph by F. Hordet
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“ARBA” (AISPSC-109) Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 1901. Illustration
This horse-drawn wooden cart (called an “arba” or an “araba”) was the standard means of local transport for heavy goods as well as people. The enormous wooden wheels enabled the cart to navigate through deep mud and water.
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“MEDRESSE STUDENT” (AISPNB-110). Samarkand, 1907. Russian period postcard. The young man is wearing at least two Russian printed-cotton robes ("chapan") – layered one on top of the other – and a turban “salla”. The sleeves of his robe are cut very long, as was the custom, both for modesty sake so as not to show one’s hands, and for warmth in cold weather.
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“A BATCHA of SAMARKAND” (AISPNB-111). Samarkand, Uzbekistan. 1901.
Batchas were young boys or youths who usually belonged to a troupe of enternainers. The boys often assumed a feminine guise and danced in public places such as teahouses, or at men’s private gatherings.
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“YOUNG MAN of TASHKENT” (ATSPSC-112). Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 1906.
Obviously this is a well-to-do young man wearing a belt with silver or gilt buckles and disks. His robe is made of “bekasab”, a silk warp/cotton weft handwoven striped fabric produced in local workshops. He is standing in front of what appears to be carved plasterwork.
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“BELLE of OLD TASHKENT in WEDDING COSTUME” (ATSPSC-113). Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 1906. The woman wears a dress made from Russian printed-cotton. A large suzani of the kind typically made in Tashkent hangs behind her.
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“WATER CARRIER” (AISPNB-114). Bukhara, Uzbekistan. 1929
Russian period postcard. Water was transported in goatskin bags. Men delivered it that way to the merchants in the bazaars, who also paid to have it sprayed from the neck of these bags to keep the dust down.
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“SART” (AISPNB-115). Samarkand, Uzbekistan. c.1906.
Russian period postcard. “Sart” was a term that the Russians applied to anyone they considered a settled person, as opposed to a nomad. This man is actually one of the guardians of the Shah-i-Zinda mosque. He is obviously a man of prestige and wears a belt with silver ornaments. The Shah-i-Zinda is a large ensemble of mausoleums and other buildings built from the 11th to the 19th century.
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