In Khiva, the same naksh or patterning can often be seen in a variety of mediums. It might appear as ceramic tiling, cut into stone plinths used to support carved wooden pillars that may also feature the same design. Carved wooden doors, painted ceilings and now carpets may all feature the same design. Our Khiva Doors and Pillars collection features some overlap with the Khiva Majolica collection as well as many designs found exclusively in wood.
The Friday Mosque, built to accommodate the entire adult male population of Khiva, features hundreds of carved wooden pillars, each one unique. The many palaces, fortresses and madrassahs of Khiva are all graced with large carved wooden doors, and even the four gates into the walled city boast intricately carved wooden doors. These have all left us with a wealth of designs.
As these wooden designs have no colouring of their own, we have experimented with different colour combinations. In the catalogue you can see the original wood carving and various colour combinations that we have given to these designs. There are still many workshops in Khiva where young men learn how to carve wood, producing Koran stands, chopping boards and ornate boxes and keeping alive this important tradition.