The State Museum of Applied Arts, Tashkent

The State Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan is located in the so-called "Polovtsev House", the former palace of the Russian diplomat, Alexander Alexandrovich Polovtsev Jr. The building itself is a jewel of Oriental architecture and decorative arts, dated from the late 1800s. Its decoration (carving and painting) was done by Uzbek folk artists who came from various parts of the country: Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva, and Rishtan.

Immediately after the Russian Revolution of 1917 and until the mid-1930s the building had housed an orphanage and various other organizations, including a training center for ganch carving and embossing, as well as an embroidery workshop. Starting from 1937 it had been the home, first to a temporary exhibition and then to the Museum of Handicrafts, predecessor of the Museum of Applied Arts.

In 1941 and 1961, and then in 1970, the building was thoroughly reconstructed and granted the status of a State Museum. Today its collection comprises over 4,000 items of Uzbek decorative arts, spanning from the 19th century until the present, and including embroidery and clothing (e.g. suzani, tiubityeïka, goulkurpa, etc.), pottery and ceramics, furniture, wooden sculpture, ironwork, gold weaving and jewelry, musical instruments, and more.

The exhibits are divided into sections such as ancient regional arts, traditional arts from the late 20th century, and modern applied arts. The most popular exhibits are the National Clothing Collection, the Carpet Collection, and the Knife Collection.

The museum also has two gift shops on its premises, where you can buy paintings, graphics, porcelain, carpets, embroidery, fabrics, jewelry, coinage, varnished miniature and other works of modern Uzbek masters.