A number of items belonging to historical, public figures are kept in the rich clothing collection of Ethnographic Fund of the National Museum of History of Azerbaijan. Of them, the chepken belonging to the family of Karabakh ruler Ibrahimkhalil khan (1763-1797) is a delicate clothing example. The clothing sample, which was given to the Museum in 1954, belonged to spouse of Ibrahimkhalil khan’s great-grandchild. It should be noted that the chepken that is a lined outerwear was made of fabrics such as tirma, velvet, brocade. In some cases, depending on economic situation, cotton and other cheaper fabrics were used, as well. Atmagol sleeves made the chepkens look more magnificent. Aforementioned chepken is made of brocade with yellow flower descriptions. The edges were embroidered with a gold lace. There are flower descriptions made with red, orange, green threads on it. The lining is of the violet ganovuz (dense silk cloth) fabric. We should also mention that attractive and fine fabrics were chosen for making linings of chepkens. Thus, such linings made atmagol more eye-catching. Although usually chepkens were cut straight, as can be seen from the example, there were convex parts called “chapig” (slit) on both sides on the waist. This makes the garment look more expressive.
Treasures of the Museum’s Archaeological Collection: Bronze Zoomorphic Pendants
Coins minted in Azerbaijan are among the important finds for the study of medieval history and monetary economy. Thanks to numismatic finds from the Hulaguid (Ilkhanid) period, it is possible to gather information about the Bazar city-mint, whose name survives only on coins.
This year marks the 585th anniversary of the birth of the great Uzbek poet, philosopher, and statesman Nizamaddin Alisher Navoi.