Felt

Kyrgyz Felt
Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan
20th Century, Wool Felt
317.5 x 167.5 cm (126 x 66 in.)
Vinay Pande Collection, Greenwich, CT

This Kyrgyz felt has been produced using an intarsia, or “mosaic” technique. Various shapes have been cut out from sheets of different color and then sewn together; reciprocal patterns are particularly popular. The nomadic Kyrgyz and Kazakh have developed the art of patterned felts to a high level, surpassing the work of their Turkmen neighbors, who arrange colored wools into a pattern that is “rolled-in” as the felt is compacted, producing a blurred-effect.

Kyrgyz Felt