Felt Artworks in the Nomadic Lifestyle of the Kalmyks and Oirats of Mongolia. Revisiting the Problem Statement (Evidence from Museum Collections of Russia)

• Published in: Oriental Studies
• Main Author: S. G. Batyreva
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Российской академии наук, Калмыцкий научный центр 2018-04-01
• Subjects: калмыки; культура; музеи россии; коллекции; искусство номадов; культурное наследие; традиция
• Online Access: https://kigiran.elpub.ru/jour/article/view/264
• ISSN: 2619-0990; 2619-1008

The article examines felt artworks from Russia’s museum collections representing the traditional material culture of Mongolian nomads, i.e. household and other items. Considering the cultural heritage of the Republic of Kalmykia, the author reveals the structure and contents of its museum collections. Those require further comprehensive studies that - in the context of museology - would combine methods of art criticism, history and ethnoculturology. It was relevant for the comparative research to examine the ethnic traditions of felt craft. Pieces of artistic handicraft of Mongolian peoples are represented in the museum collections as follows: Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera), Russian Museum of Ethnography, Zaya Pandita Museum of the Kalmyk Scientifi c Center of the RAS and Palmov Kalmyk National Museum. Due to historical circumstances, cultural heritage of nomads in the museum funds of the Republic of Kalmykia is still incomplete and is characterized by somewhat ‘fragmented nature’. This makes the task and experience of learning and scientifi c cataloguizing of items of traditional art inherent to Mongolian nomads in other museums of Russia extremely important. Comparative analysis of the artistic heritage will reveal the uniqueness of the local folk art - closely associated with livestock herding and breeding - in more detail.