Relationships between the peoples of the Sheki khanate and Dagestan in the field of material culture in XVIII - XIX centuries (historical and cultural approach)

In the 18th - 19th centuries, one of the widespread forms of folk art remained home crafts. Along with this, handicraft production developed to a certain extent: making things to order for the consumer, who paid the craftsmen with money or products - cattle , grain, etc. Crafts and trades of the peoples of Southern Dagestan and the Sheki Khanate were closely connected with their economic activity and way of life. The types of products, their range, the material from which they were made, were determined by the specific living conditions and needs of the local population itself. This also caused the very wide participation of craftsmen in the creation of products, often combining creative work with ordinary agricultural and cattle breeding activities.

At the turn of the 18th and early 19th centuries, Southern Dagestan was closely adjacent to large craft and trade centers of Eastern Transcaucasia, such as Sheki, Quba, Baku, Ganja , etc., and items of their crafts and trade came here in a powerful stream, displacing the less sophisticated products of local artisans. Because those types of decorative art and branches of artistic crafts that existed here - stone and wood carving, patterned knitting and weaving, jewelry and embroidery -lagged behind both in their range and in decorative design. 4Nevertheless, at the time we are considering, more than 20 types of home craft production existed in the territory of Lezgin settlement. Both men and women were engaged in home crafts. The exclusive occupation of the latter was the manufacture of wool and partly ceramics. Men processed metal, wood, stone.5

the 18th century , Sheki masters reached a high level in the processing of stone, wood and gyazhi . At that time, architectural details and household items made of stone were decorated mainly with carving , distinguished by the skill of execution and the richness of ornamental motifs. In the city of Sheki alone, there were 37 types of crafts. Some masters engaged in tailoring, blacksmithing, embroidery on fabric, dyeing, leather tanning, etc., employed hired workers and apprentices in their workshops.

Carpets have always been valued. They were traded in other countries, they were often included in ambassadorial gifts. Carpets were collected as tribute. Over the course of many centuries, characteristic ones for each were developed and modified from century to century. The creative thought of the masters supplemented and interpreted widely known carpet ornaments to their taste, hence the great variety of compositional and ornamental solutions.

Carpet production in Southern Dagestan was highly developed in the Akhtyn , Magaramkent , Kurakh , and Kasumkent societies. As is known, carpet production was exclusively carried out by women. Most of the Lezgin carpets were exported to Transcaucasia and from there to other countries. In the Sheki Khanate, carpet weaving was one of the main occupations of the population. In Sheki, carpets were produced that had exceptional artistic qualities: simplicity of patterns and composition, richness of color.

At the time in question, weaving looms had a uniform design both in Southern Dagestan and in the Sheki Khanate, differing only in minor details.

Despite the very complex technological process, carpet weaving in the period under review became the main source of income for the population in some regions.

Artistic woodworking is one of the oldest types of traditional crafts of the Sheki Khanate and Dagestan. Wood products were created not only by masters who specialized in this occupation, but also by ordinary peasants who carved wooden dishes and utensils for their own households, and less often for friends and neighbors. Due to this, wood carving was the most widespread type of craft.

Artistic carving in the 18th century was carried out under conditions of some definite technical progress, compared to previous centuries. The prevailing artistic carving with a strong local flavor, as relations with Russia and Western Europe developed in the 18th century, began to modernize somewhat, carving with high relief patterns appeared, as well as some pictorial motifs composed of bird figures, etc.

The craftsmen of Southern Dagestan and the Sheki Khanate could acquire raw materials in unlimited quantities due to their favorable location in the forest-steppe zone. This is the wood of such valuable trees for handicrafts as oak, elm, wild chestnut, walnut, maple, etc.

in the Sheki Khanate. Craftsmen performed artistic processing of wooden musical instruments, utensils, etc., decorating them with patterns and drawings. During this period, shebeke carving and knockout methods were widely used. The works of knockout and shebeke masters can be shown on the example of the Palace of the Sheki Khans. The facade of the palace is a lifting lattice frame with a set of shebeke - multi-colored small glass. The multi-colored shebeke pattern colorfully complements the paintings covering the walls of the palace. It should be noted that the fame of the Sheki masters in the production of shebeke spread far beyond the Sheki Khanate 6.

During the period we are studying, there were 24 wood carving masters working in Sheki, who made windows and doors, and also nailed ceilings and roofs 7.

In the art of the peoples of Southern Dagestan, as in the art of the Sheki people , wood products are represented mainly by monuments of the 18th - 19th centuries. vv.U painting with carving doors and windows, wooden columns of houses and mosques , etc. Sheki and Dagestan masters were very skilled, and each master was half an artist. Therefore, even in the simplest houses, in which there was no painting and decorative special carving on gyazh or wood, the ends of ordinary wooden beams of the post-and-beam structure of the ceilings were still carried out with carving, which gave their long ends the appearance of picturesque brackets abundantly endowed with shelves, rollers and other carved details. The boards under the beams above the columns were also endowed with carving elements, replacing the capital and completing the top of the wooden posts, mostly located along the edge of a deep aivan , which constituted the front part of the house.

Naturally, not all wooden products of the southern Dagestanis can be classified as works of folk decorative art. Agricultural implements, barrels, carts, troughs, although made taking into account national taste and meeting not only utilitarian but also aesthetic criteria, did not have any clearly expressed artistic features.8

The most common traditional tool for cultivating the land among the peoples of Southern Dagestan in the past was a wooden plough. Hardwoods were mainly used for it . Like many Azerbaijani craftsmen , the Sheki people made the plough from wild pear or mulberry wood.

the great similarity between Dagestani agricultural tools and Azerbaijani ones in her monograph.9

In the production of transport vehicles (carts, carts) the inhabitants of the villages of Gil, Shtul , Khiv and others, where there were specialized workshops, achieved special mastery. Orders came here not only from the villages of Southern Dagestan, but also from neighboring Azerbaijani villages.10

In the Sheki region, cart wheels were manufactured in the villages of Tyuntyul , Khachmaz , Khalkhal , Vardanly , Tarkesh , Sinjan , Filfili and Bash. Zayzid .11

Some villages specialized in the production of certain household items. Thus, in Sheki there were many famous masters of chest makers. The chests were intended to store the bride's dowry. Mattresses, blankets, pillows, which were used for guests, were placed on the chests. In the chest with the dowry of rich brides, Sheki and Lezgin spoons ( kashuk ) occupied a worthy place.

Niches- tahchi played a big role in the formation of the interior of residential buildings in Sheki . They performed certain functions in the house. One of these functions was to place chests and small chests- mujri in them . Mujri is the same chest ( sandyg ), but smaller in size. They were also made almost the same size, since they were placed in smaller niches- tahcha .12

Original beautiful spoons, wooden bowls from apricot wood, were made in the villages Piral , Yukhari-Yarak , Kapir , etc. They were distinguished by their special strength and smooth surface and did not crack. The production of beautiful sinks and dough troughs was also in great demand among the Sheki people . Prices for wooden products were quite high. In the Sheki Khanate, a rahdari tax of 20 kopecks was charged for a load of 30 cups, plates and a trough, which shows how widespread this type of craft was 13.

Furniture at the time in question, although distinguished by a great variety, suffered from a variety of styles . The evolution of forms of folk furniture towards complexity can be especially clearly traced in such items as a takht - a sleeping place for adults and a beshi k - a children's cradle. The primitive form of the bed, already as an example of permanent furniture for housing, consists of a squat box with three walls, placed on four legs. The protruding corner bars of the back are slightly rounded at the top. Over time, the forms of furniture become lighter, the details of decorations become more juicy and expressive. The tables and chairs that appeared in everyday life predetermined the height of the takht - they became higher.

More durable in everyday life were children's cradles - be eshik , which were improved from the most crude and primitive models, cut almost with one axe, to the most modern. The various methods of decorating the cradle indicate that this type of furniture was made with special care and love.

In addition to wood processing, weaving of items from wooden rods was of great importance in the everyday life of the peoples of Southern Dagestan and the Sheki Khanate. The raw material for wicker items was thin rods of chestnut, walnut or oak trees. At the time in question, almost every village was engaged in weaving baskets, fences, containers for storing grain, etc.

In the 18th - early 19th centuries, inlay and marquetry were further developed. These techniques were used to decorate the surfaces of various types of wooden products: furniture, boxes, book stands ( rahil ), musical instruments (tar, saz, kamancha, def , etc.) and other household items.

Artistic stone processing was also one of the occupations of Dagestan and Sheki masters. Despite the variety of technical methods and the diversity of the manner of execution, the general compositional methods of constructing the decor in tombstones of the 18th - early 19th centuries were uniform. The pattern was placed on the steles mainly in the form of U-shaped bands, which were located one inside the other , repeating the strictly rectangular shape of the tombstone. The central field was usually filled with ornamental medallions of rectangular or patterned shape. Epitaphs and inscriptions of religious content, mainly in Arabic, were placed in the center of the medallions. On men's tombstones, figures of an armed horseman, a horse, an eagle, a falcon, etc. are depicted, on women's - mirrors , combs and other household items.

The oldest tombstones in Sheki are located in the courtyard of the Khan's Mosque. Particular attention is drawn to the tombstone of Abdul Kilidaghi dated to 1215 AH (1801). The patterns of the gravestones of the Sheki khans and their families include floral ornaments, inscriptions of verses from the Koran, prayers, as well as the biography and characteristics of the deceased.14

Living evidence of the Sheki and Dagestan craftsmen are also examples of cobblestone carving. Mostly, cobblestone carving was done for the artistic design of tombstones. But there are also examples that decorate entrances to homes, piers between windows and other divisions. To produce carvings, large blocks were usually taken, they were stratified; the resulting slabs were polished on one side, and only after that did the carving begin.

As written sources show, the main centers of artistic metalworking in Azerbaijan in the 18th century were Sheki, Lahij, Ganja , and Tabriz. The most common metal product in the Sheki Khanate was copper-chased tableware. The workshops of coppersmiths, blacksmiths, and other metalworkers were located in the bazaars. Here they worked, and here they sold their products. In Sheki, there was a special street of coppersmiths who made beautifully shaped and decorated household items: serpush (food cap), aftfaf a ( jug), jam (bowl), shamdan (candlesticks), mangal (brazier), etc.

The masters of artistic metalworking from Lagich had a strong connection with Sheki, and some even moved to the city of Sheki with their families and practiced their craft here, even organizing entire neighborhoods, which were called “ lahiclar ” ( Lagich people ).

The history of production and the widespread use of copper-embossed dishes in every Lezgin house, where one could find a water-bearing jug "k I ar", " aftafa ", basin and other copper items - all this testifies to their connections with Azerbaijan, in particular with Sheki and Lagich. And, nevertheless, the majority of those who made copper-embossed dishes were actually Dagestani artisans.

The motifs of the decoration of copper items were mostly geometric and plant-type ornaments, which were executed using the technique of deepening a thin line, which was subjected to blackening at the end of execution. Along with the named motifs, images of living beings also occupied a significant place among the decoration of copper items. However, it is known that even in the middle of the century these prohibitions were often violated. By the time the influence of Islam weakened and under the influence of the strong penetration of various elements of the culture of other countries and peoples in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially Russia, European countries, etc., here , including in artistic metal, they began to turn more to pictorial motifs.15

In blacksmith shops, such as in Sheki , a city peripheral to industrial centers, many items of everyday life, as well as tools, are made. Various sickles, scythes, pitchforks, shovels and other items widely used in agricultural affairs, as well as stoves, pipes for them, short pipes for samovars, and many openwork grates for balcony railings, windows, outbuildings, etc. Door knockers were also made in blacksmith shops.

The outstanding scientist historian M.Ismailov in his novel " Ağ yapıncı " (White Burka) in the image of Usta Demir , gives information about the peculiarity and pride of the blacksmith's profession. He writes that "... Usta Demir was a famous master in Sheki. Therefore, it is not by chance that one of the respected and significant people of the city, Haji Celebi , commissioned Usta Demir to make a beautiful dagger for his son..."16

Blacksmithing has played a major role in the lives of the highlanders for many centuries. The very figure of a blacksmith handling fire was surrounded by a magical aura among the people. The traditional blacksmith's tool was simple: a sledgehammer and hammer, tongs, pincers, etc. - and was made mainly by the master himself.

Koysu in the Kyurinsky District, as well as Akhty, Samur, Richa, Kochkhur , and Tsakhur 17, were considered to be large centers of handicraft production of silver jewelry in Southern Dagestan, where there was a significant number of artisans.

The surviving items show that in the 18th - early 19th centuries, Sheki masters used almost all methods of artistic metalworking: chasing, engraving, filigree, inlay, blackening, enamel. All types of ornamental motifs were usually widely used in the decoration of such items. Sometimes there were scenes of hunting, war, various historical events, as well as individual lyrical plots from the poems of Nizami Ganjavi and other poets of the East. Among the remarkable examples demonstrating the high level of artistic metalworking in the Sheki Khanate in the 18th - early 19th centuries, the most artistically interesting examples of bronze braziers made in the described period in the city of Sheki are considered . The main themes and motifs of the ornament are traditional -flowers and trees, birds, animals and human figures.

In terms of technique, jewelry from Southern Dagestan was also extremely diverse. Engraving, niello, and inlay on wood and metal were practiced. However, unlike Sheki , the production of filigree and enamel items was not widespread.

In the first half of the 19th century, the products of the masters of the " zargarchiyar " village of Akhty were especially famous in the region . "At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, jewelry from the villages of Kubachi , the Lak villages of Kumukh, Balkhar , the Lezgin village of Akhty, the Avar village of Khunzakh and others stand out 18. "

Such types of artistic metalworking as engraving on steel and silver and gold inlay on steel and copper were widespread in Southern Dagestan. Some authors believe that these types of artistic metalworking were borrowed by the Lezgins from Azerbaijani craftsmen.19

But, comparing Lezgin jewelry with the works of Sheki masters, one can come to the conclusion that the Lezgins had certain manufacturing traditions, and undoubtedly, the southern Dagestani character of the ornament decorating them, and they did not like complex and bulky products. Among the discovered works, massive buckles, large pendants and temple decorations are completely absent.

As we have already noted, Sheki masters used forging, carving, spitting, etc. to give jewelry a complex and beautiful shape. One of these methods was shebeke. In jewelry, shebeke is a drawing or pattern made of thin gold or silver wire.

certain that the special elongation of forms, graceful silhouette, and laconic decor speak of the organic connection of Dagestan and Sheki masters with each other's material culture. The closeness of artistic tastes of different peoples is not such a rare example of interaction of cultures in the Caucasus. It testifies to the similarities of the basic aesthetic principles, and to the ancient friendly ties of neighboring peoples.

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