Antique Kyrgyz Oyna Halta - Circa early 20th Century
The Silk Road was the ancient trade corridor exchanging raw materials, goods, ideas and cultures of the east and west. Caravans of horses, camels, yaks, donkeys and oxen carried silks, spices, embroideries, carpets, jewelry and pottery from as far away as China to the Mediterranean.

For centuries, Turkic speaking nomads, Kyrgyz, Uzbeks and Kazakhs moved seasonally with their herds for richer grazing lands, establishing early Silk Road pathways. Living in yurts that could be broken down and transported by camels or horses, a mirror was a valuable and fragile commodity. Oyna Halta, small hand made, hand embroidered pillow-like bags protected the glass, their cotton threads colored with pigments made from plants and insects.

We were taken by the beauty of nomads’ art, their palettes and the spirit of their design. As discovered.

Oyna Halta - Stylized floral nomadic Kyrgyz folk art, backed with the original antique cotton textile on the reverse, mounted on a new textile. The frame has been crafted with antique reclaimed French oak. We softened the frame edges to be most compatible with this hand work, history and culture.

We have not placed the textile under glass or plexiglass as is often the way that textiles are mounted. We have considered how nomads may have mounted folk art and what resources and tools they may have utilized.

With hooks for hanging and light board backing.

13 1/2" X 13 1/2"