XORAZM AHOLISINING HUNARMANDCHILIK AN’ANALARI VA TRANSFORMATSIYASI (MISGARLIK HUNARI MISOLIDA)

Abstract

This article examines the traditional handicraft practices of the population of the Khorezm oasis through the example of copper craftsmanship. Particular attention is paid to the historical development of metalworking traditions, the relationship between copper craftsmanship and decorative metal engraving, professional specialization, the master-apprentice system, and the transformation of the craft during the nineteenth–twenty-first centuries. The study draws upon archaeological, written and ethnographic sources, scholarly works on the history of crafts in the Khiva Khanate, and museum collections. Copper craftsmanship in Khorezm historically developed as an important component of material culture, serving both everyday practical needs and the aesthetic interests of the population. The spread of factory-made products during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries reduced the everyday functional role of handmade copper objects. At the same time, the development of tourism, growing interest in national cultural heritage, and state support for traditional crafts in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries created new opportunities for the preservation and renewal of copper craftsmanship. The article interprets this process not as the disappearance of the craft, but as its functional transformation and adaptation to changing socio-economic conditions.