Kyrgyz shyrdak: felt cut in counterchange, sewn and quilted (British Museum As1995,20.14)
Object · not yet checked at the source
- Made by
- Kyrgyz women felt-makers
- Date
- object 1955; craft listed by UNESCO 2012
- Place
- Kyrgyzstan (Naryn and Issyk-Kul today)
- Held by
- British Museum
- Number
- As1995,20.14
- Materials
- wool felt
- Themes
- Rug-making techniques
Cite this source
Research notes
How it works: two felts of contrasting colour are laid together, a pattern is chalked on, and both are cut through at once. The pieces are swapped and sewn onto a coarser felt base, and the scrap from one makes a second shyrdak with the colours reversed. The seams are covered with cord and the whole is quilted along the ornament. A medium piece takes one woman about two months (Wikipedia; shyrdakjurte.com; Atlantis Press paper). The related ala-kiyiz is pressed felt, with coloured wool laid into the batt before felting. UNESCO inscribed 'Ala-kiyiz and Shyrdak' on its Urgent Safeguarding List in 2012 (7.COM). One site gives 2010, which conflicts with UNESCO's own record. This object: a tent felt of four appliquéd sections on a brown backing, used as a floor covering, dated 1955, 159 × 80 cm. It was collected by Stephanie Bunn during doctoral research on Kirgiz tent felts (BM records As1995,20 and As1996,13 hold more shyrdaks, e.g. As1995,20.10, c. 1950). Sources: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/ala-kiyiz-and-shyrdak-art-of-kyrgyz-traditional-felt-carpets-00693 · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shyrdak · https://shyrdakjurte.com/en/blogs/news/herstellung · https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_As1995-20-14 Research note (Oct 2026): from search results; pages not opened.