Uzbekistan · Wood Carving / Architectural Craft
Хива ёғоч ўймакорлиги (Khiva Yogoch Uymakoriigi)
Khiva (Хива) in the Khorezm region is Uzbekistan's primary center of architectural wood carving — producing the elaborately carved wooden columns (ustun), doors (eshik), and ceiling panels that define the interiors of the UNESCO World Heritage Itchan Kala (inner city). Khiva carving uses a geometric vocabulary based entirely on compass constructions — all patterns derived from circles, their intersections, and the polygons they generate. The defining technical knowledge is the compass-first principle: 'no line is drawn before the circle is drawn — every line comes from a circle.' The compass is the primary tool; the chisel is secondary.
Risk level: Critically Endangered · Component of Itchan Kala UNESCO World Heritage (1990); Uzbekistan national ICH list for wood carving
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