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House in a mountain village. Crimean Tartars. Tavricheskaya Province. Early 20th century. Photo-archive of the RME |
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View of Gurzuf village. Tavricheskaya Province. Early 20th century. Photo-archive of the RME |
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| "Uchkur" - men's sashes. Crimean Tartars. |
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| Towels with woven patterns. Crimean Tartars. Late 19th - early 20th century. |
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Household utensils. Crimean Tartars. Tavricheskaya Province. Late 19th- early 20th century. |
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Peoples of Crimea
Indigenous peoples of the Crimean Peninsula
Crimean Tatars, Karaims and Krymchaks belong to the indigenous peoples of the Crimean Peninsula the distinctive feature of which from ancient times is its being multinational.
Traditional crafts
Cities Bakhchisarai and Karasubazar in the Bogatyrskaya volost were the main centres for the handicrafts in Crimea. Many products made by Crimean craftsmen as well as by Turckish were being sold in these places. Krymchaks and Karaims were mainly involved in producing footwera and headdresses, Gipsies were the blacksmithers while Tatars, Armenians and Krymchaks were the jewellers and braziers.
Tatars also produced woolen things, especially bags. In the Bogatyrskaya volost wood processing was well developed. Tatars who inhabited this volost produced carts, rake and other wooden tools. Crimean women had the reputation of fine embroideresses.
Embroidering and weaving among the Tatars
Art of embroidering and weaving was spread everywhere in the Tatar settlements.Tatar women reached its culmination in the technique of embroidering by reversible satin-stitch. It is almost imposible to identify the wrong side on the Crimean-Tatar embroideries of 17-18cc..
Embroideries were made in shape of mosques surrounded by cypresses; bouquet of flowers in a vase; plant sprouts where dogrose, lotus and hyacinth adjoin restrained wild growing flowers.
Art of weaving the Crimean Tatars took from the Karaims. Using manual loom the crimean Tatar created patterns with specific names: "pigeon chest", " Curls from Yenisal", "flower of the mint".
Karaims' and Krymchaks' embroideries
Karaim and Krymchak women also did embroidering. The most typical technique was one-sided satin-stitch, gold-embroidery.
Interior of the Tatar house
Woven carpets covered floor in the Tatar houses, and patterned felts covered it in the dwellings of the Steppe tatars. Sitting cushions were placed along the walls which were covered with embroidered towels, kerchieves and coverlets. For bedding the special storing bay was made in the wall and it was put there in piles onto the chests. Copper and ceramic pottery was placed on the shelves lengthwise the walls.
Turkic origin of thr Crimean Tatars
The historical and cultural origin of the crimean Tatars found its clearest reflection in the interior of the wedding dwelling. Several cords were streched radially under the ceiling in the room of the newly-weds. Towels and embroideries hung on them hid the ceiling. The room corners were rounded by embroidered towels which were used during the ritual colouring of the bridegroom's hands by henna. Floors were covered with felts and woolen fabric. Room started looking like a rounded dome-like dwelling i.e. nomadic yurt, moreover, such interor was common to the wedding dwelling not only in the steppe part of Crimea, but also in its mountainous part.
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