Qashqadaryo viloyat oʻlkashunoslik muzeyi

Qashqadaryo Region History and Culture State Museum — a cultural-educational institution with more than 38,000 exhibits related to the cultural life of Qashqadaryo Region and its unique history and cultural life.

History. The Qashqadaryo Region State Museum of History and Culture operated from 1975 to 2007 in the Khoja Abdulaziz madrasa built in 1909. In the early period three sections were active: “Pre‑Revolutionary Period”, “Post‑Revolutionary Period” and “Nature Sections”. In 1992 the “Pre‑Revolutionary” and “Post‑Revolutionary” sections were transformed into the “History” section. From that year the “Folk Applied Arts” section, and in 1995 the “Labor and Glory” sections were established in the “Shuhrat” fortress in Qarshi. This section has been recorded since 2003 as the “Memory and Heritage” section. On 24 September 2004, according to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 452 on preparing and holding the 2700‑year anniversary of the city of Qarshi, the Khoja Abdulaziz madrasa, which had housed the Qashqadaryo Region Museum of Local Studies, was included in the renovation program and renovation works were carried out. All museum exhibits were placed in the building next to the madrasa, i.e., the foundation. In March 2005 an exhibition‑museum display was organized in the lobby on the second floor of the M. Toshmuhammedov Regional Musical Drama Theatre. In March‑July 2005, during the restoration of the “Odina” congregational mosque in Qarshi, more than 50 ancient artifacts, archaeological finds, various ornaments, engravings, and a 14th‑century door made of walnut wood were recovered as a result of archaeological scientific‑research work carried out during the restoration of this monument. From 23 February 2007 the museum continued its activity in a new building located in the A. Navoi Culture and Recreation Park. There, an exhibition dedicated to the 2700‑year anniversary of the city of Qarshi was prepared in cooperation with the “International Uzbek‑Greek Cultural Heritage” collection.

Currently the museum has three sections “History”, “Folk Applied Art” and “Scientific Educational”. The museum collection includes more than 38 000 items of painting, graphics, sculpture, numismatics, archaeology, folk applied art, photographs, documents, household and ethnographic objects. In 2004, based on manuscript books collected at the State Museum of the History and Culture of Qashqadaryo Region, the “Catalogue of Eastern Manuscripts in the Museum of the Study of the Qashqadaryo Region” written in French in the city of Rim was published. The catalogue presents descriptions of more than fifty manuscripts related to the history and culture of our country, as well as important issues of scientific‑educational significance.

In addition, the museum collection includes a collection of more than one hundred rare watercolours by the Polish painter Apelbaum. The watercolours are executed in watercolor and oil paint and contain works created by the artist during 1947‑1957. In his watercolours the artist depicted architectural monuments and their elements, decorative forms, samples of works, and practical objects from Qashqadaryo and Shahrisabz rendered at an artistic level.

To the collection of folk applied art items: women's headdress “manglaydo‘zi” (late 19th century) made of silver and agate, worked in a chain-like technique. Copper teapot (late 19th century) worked in the hammered engraving method. Bracelet, Karakalpak headdress (19th century) each consisting of nine agate stones, molded in silver and agate, worked by the qadama technique. Women’s rings and hoops made of silver belong to the late 19th–early 20th centuries. Icon: Prophet Jesus (Jesus Christ) (18th century) belonging to Russia’s Primorsky Krai, made of cast zinc, molded, in the hammered technique. Copper tea sets made in Kokand and Bukhara (19th century) hammered, in the hammered technique. Copper bowls and cups made in Bukhara (19th century) copper, hammered, in the mixed hammered technique. The gate door of the Hoja Ubaydullox Jarrox pilgrimage complex in Qarshi (18th century) and its lock and chain (early 20th century) made of copper, cast, molded, engraved technique. In the Qashqadaryo region, pottery schools have been developing since ancient times. The museum also holds samples of pottery items made by masters of the Kitob pottery school in the 1950s–1960s. Women’s hand‑woven shawls, aprons, and dresses made of silk, adras, and velvet (late 19th–early 20th centuries). In the Shahrisabz and Kitob districts of Qashqadaryo, hand‑stitched men’s and women’s jackets, caps (koshelyok), their tanvor (embroidery), and footwear tanvor from the 1920s–1970s.

In the museum's numismatics section there are silver and copper coins, paper money, as well as orders and medals. The copper coins cover the period from the 6th century AD to the 15th century AD. Among them it is possible to mention a unique copper coin from the 6th century AD. The copper coin depicts the ruler of the city of Nasaf, allowing us to obtain information about the state administration structure and the ruler in the 6th centuries AD.