Bobur & Firdaus Kabilov produce artwork of various forms in the traditions of the Bukharan School.
Training
Both brothers began studying various forms of art from childhood and finished a special school of art with Marat Sadikov, a famous Uzbek artist.Location
Since the mid 1990's Bobur and Firdaus have been painting and selling their art at the Ark of Bukhara, the Emir of Bukhara's 'city within the city.' They can be found most days inside the Ark where their mother and Firdaus' wife also work.The Kabilovs were amongst the first to offer their traditional skills to tourists passing through the ancient Silk Road caravan city that is their home. In the last five years they have greatly expanded their products and continued to hone their skills.
Materials used
Miniatures are painted on antique paper, approximately 100-150 years old. They are painted in the traditional Persian Bukharan School. The paper is a 50% silk and 50% cotton mix, 100% natural.Firdaus' watercolors are painted on normal watercolor paper with completely natural dyes made from local ingredients such as pomegranates and mulberries. They represent scenes of old Bukhara.
Other crafts available
Calligraphy is painted in Arabic letters which then form the painting, whether it trees, flowers, people or animals.Bobur specializes in painting of jewelry boxes, traditional Bukharan pencil cases (called "penal"), small ceramic figures, chess sets (a Central Asian tradition as well), traditional drums (called "doira") and other traditional objects.
For more information please contact the brothers directly at kaykovus@yahoo.com