A photo essay from the city of master potters in the Fergana Valley
Rishtan is the holy of holies of Uzbek ceramics. All those brightly colored plates and bowls with intricate patterns—as well as the immensely popular “paxtagul”, the iconic blue, white, and gold ornament depicting stylized cotton bolls—are made here, in Rishtan. Even the pieces you encounter in Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, or Termez will have come from this very place.
Here, the land itself seems to favor the potter’s craft. Rishtan quite literally stands atop a deposit of unique red clay that requires no additional additives for ceramic production. For more than a thousand years, pottery has been the principal occupation in these parts, and over time Rishtan’s masters have brought the craft to truly exceptional heights.
The potters themselves say that within a three-kilometer radius of Rishtan, clay can be dug almost anywhere—and it will always be clean and red. All that remains is to sift it to remove small stones and roots, and it is ready to be used. A true potter’s paradise.
Text by Yulia Zemtsova
Photos by Ravshan Kazakov
