Visual arts of Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani art has developed over the ancient history of Azerbaijan and Iranian Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijanis have created a rich and distinctive culture, a major part of which is decorative and applied art. This form of art rooted in hoary antiquity, is represented by a wide range of handicrafts, such as chasing, jewelery-making, engraving in metal, carving in wood, stone and bone, carpet-making, lacing, pattern weaving and printing, knitting and embroidery. Each of these types of decorative art, evidence of the culture and endowments of the Azerbaijan nation, is very popular there. Many interesting facts pertaining to the development of arts and crafts in Azerbaijan were reported by numerous merchants, travelers and diplomats who had visited these places at different times.

Images reflecting magic, totemic notions of ancient people, their religious customs and hunting scenes saved on rocks in Gobustan evidence about primitive art in the Paleolithic epoch. Men and women, fishing scenes, images of people dancing on the rocks, galloping horses hunters, lonely figure of a reaper with a sickle, round dances of people reminding of “yalli”, boats with rowers, solar signs and various wild animals had been portrayed there.

Gamigaya Petroglyphs in the territory of Ordubad Rayon are dated back to the 4th-1st centuries BC. About 1500 dislodged and carved rock paintings with images of deer, goats, bulls, dogs, snakes, birds, fantastic beings and also people, carriages and various symbols had been found out on basalt rocks.

Findings of ceramic items belonged to Caucasian Albanian culture found out during archeological excavations have various shapes, perfect forms and fine ornaments. Varieties of painted ornamental and semantic motifs are typical for ceramic items found out in different oblasts of Azerbaijan such as Shahtakhty and Gizilvang.

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Wikipedia