Izhau: a Bashkir ladle for pouring koumiss. Archaic roots of a museum subject

The study focuses on the wood-carved ladle that is a part of the koumiss utensils set for the Bashkirs. The ladle for pouring koumiss was made of a single piece of wood of different types by folk craftsmen in the second half of the 19th and the early 20th centuries. This household item, which is gracefully designed in the form of a waterfowl, mostly duck, has the archaic roots. There are many characters symbolizing a bird in the Bashkir mythology and folklore. Koumiss ladles are undoubtedly a source of study of both material and spiritual culture of the Bashkir people. The research deals with the ladles that are stored in the funds of the National Museum of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Nesterov Bashkir State Art Museum, and the National Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve Ancient Ufa.