Rishdan
Encyclopedia
Rishton is a town (pop est 22,580) in Fergana Province
, in Uzbekistan
, located about halfway between Kokand
and Fergana
. It is located at latitude 40°21'24N longitude 71°17'5E, and at an altitude of 471 meters.
Rishton is one of the most famous and oldest centers of ceramics
in Uzbekistan. Legend claims that the art is over 800 years old, passed down from generation to generation. A fine quality reddish-yellow clay
deposit 1-1.5 meters deep and 0.5-1.5 meters thick underlies almost the whole Rishton area. The clay can be used without refinement or addition of other types of clay from other regions. Besides clay, the potters
of Rishton extracted various dyes, quartz
sand
, and fire clay
from the surrounding the mountains.
One of the most popular Islamic Scholar Burhaniddin Ar-Rashidani Al-Margilani author of Hidaye was born in this small town and grew up in Margilan, a neighbor city in Fergana. Famous Khurshid Ahmad also born here but he later left this town to explore more cultures and civilizations.
In the late 19th – early 20th centuries, almost all the population of Rishton were potters. Its clay is suitable for making the whole variety of ceramic goods and the repertoire of ornamental patterns in the Rishton ceramics is one of the richest. Today, over 2000 craftsmen use both traditional techniques and modern machinery to produce over 5 million items per year. The traditional design has a blue-green glaze
, called “iskor”. In the 1960s, this technique had almost died out, but has now recovered, thanks to the efforts of the artisans themselves.
Main languages spoken in this area are Uzbek and Tajik
.
Fergana Province
Fergana Province is a viloyat of Uzbekistan, located in the southern part of the Fergana Valley in the far east of the country. It borders the Namangan and Andijan Provinces of Uzbekistan, as well as Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. It covers an area of 6,800 km2...
, in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, located about halfway between Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
and Fergana
Fergana
Fergana is a city , the capital of Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southern edge of the Fergana Valley in southern Central Asia, cutting across the borders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan...
. It is located at latitude 40°21'24N longitude 71°17'5E, and at an altitude of 471 meters.
Rishton is one of the most famous and oldest centers of ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
in Uzbekistan. Legend claims that the art is over 800 years old, passed down from generation to generation. A fine quality reddish-yellow clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
deposit 1-1.5 meters deep and 0.5-1.5 meters thick underlies almost the whole Rishton area. The clay can be used without refinement or addition of other types of clay from other regions. Besides clay, the potters
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
of Rishton extracted various dyes, quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
, and fire clay
Fire clay
Fire clay is a term applied to a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick.High grade fire clays can withstand temperatures of 1775°C , but to be referred to as a "fire clay" the material must withstand a minimum temperature of 1515°C...
from the surrounding the mountains.
One of the most popular Islamic Scholar Burhaniddin Ar-Rashidani Al-Margilani author of Hidaye was born in this small town and grew up in Margilan, a neighbor city in Fergana. Famous Khurshid Ahmad also born here but he later left this town to explore more cultures and civilizations.
In the late 19th – early 20th centuries, almost all the population of Rishton were potters. Its clay is suitable for making the whole variety of ceramic goods and the repertoire of ornamental patterns in the Rishton ceramics is one of the richest. Today, over 2000 craftsmen use both traditional techniques and modern machinery to produce over 5 million items per year. The traditional design has a blue-green glaze
Ceramic glaze
Glaze is a layer or coating of a vitreous substance which has been fired to fuse to a ceramic object to color, decorate, strengthen or waterproof it.-Use:...
, called “iskor”. In the 1960s, this technique had almost died out, but has now recovered, thanks to the efforts of the artisans themselves.
Main languages spoken in this area are Uzbek and Tajik
Tajik language
Tajik, Tajik Persian, or Tajiki, is a variety of modern Persian spoken in Central Asia. Historically Tajiks called their language zabani farsī , meaning Persian language in English; the term zabani tajikī, or Tajik language, was introduced in the 20th century by the Soviets...
.
See also
- Burhaniddin Al-Margilani Ar-Rashidani
- Alisher Nazirov
- Main website - http://rishton.uz/