Tashkent Museum of Applied Arts: Inside the Polovtsev House

I’m walking you through the State Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan in Tashkent — the former Polovtsev house from 1907. I’ll cover every room: the aivan, the grand hall with the fountain, ceramics, miniatures, lacquer, suzani, ikat, carpets, instruments. At the end — address, prices, opening hours, and how to get there.

Grand hall with fountain and arched windows looking onto the garden — The grand hall from another angle. The windows open onto an inner garden — in summer this creates a cross-breeze through the fountain that cools the air

What this place actually is

The mansion was built in 1907 for a Russian diplomat named Alexander Polovtsev. Instead of hiring a fashionable European decorator, he brought in master craftsmen from all over what was then Turkestan: from Khorezm, Bukhara, Samarkand and Fergana. They spent years turning a regular house with European floor plans into an Eastern palace from the inside out. Ganch (carved plaster — the local equivalent of stucco), painted walls, coffered ceilings, majolica — everything done by hand, and almost all of it has survived to today.

The house became a museum in 1937, when an exhibition of folk and applied arts opened here, and the collection grew from there. The archives now hold over 7,000 pieces. For me, it’s the single best place to see everything notable about Uzbek applied arts: ceramics, ikat, suzani, lacquer miniatures, metal chasing and wood carving.

The aivan and the front courtyard

I’ll start with the aivan, because that’s where the museum starts. An aivan (covered veranda) is an open, roofed gallery in front of the entrance — closest in English to “porch” or “loggia.” In traditional Uzbek homes, the aivan is where you sit, drink tea, and receive guests. The Polovtsev aivan ended up with European proportions — tall and symmetrical — but the finishing is purely Eastern: walls covered in majolica, an inlaid carved ceiling, painted everywhere.

Aivan of the Tashkent Museum of Applied Arts with painted walls and majolica floor — The aivan — the open gallery in front of the entrance. Majolica on the walls, an inlaid floor, carved columns

Painted wooden ceiling of the aivan with geometric ornament

Facade of the Polovtsev mansion with majolica and columns — Left — the aivan ceiling, right — a wider view of the facade. Look at the column capitals: they’re styled after Corinthian capitals but with Eastern patterns layered on top

The grand hall with the fountain and painted dome

The doors from the aivan open straight into the main hall. This is probably the most famous room in Tashkent — and I get why. In the center, a low marble fountain with an octagonal basin. Around the perimeter, windows facing the garden. In one corner, an enormous decorative niche shaped like a mihrab. The ceiling is coffered and topped with a backlit dome. The strongest impression: there is literally not a single empty surface. Every centimeter is either painted or carved.

Grand hall with marble fountain and carved mihrab niche, painted walls — The grand hall. The fountain in the middle isn’t decoration — it’s functional: in summer it cooled the air in the room

Painted dome ceiling of the grand hall with three chandeliers — You can only see the ceiling if you tilt your head all the way back. A wide-angle lens helps — otherwise the frame won’t fit it all

Carved mihrab niche flanked by ceramic displays in the main hall — The Mihrab niche (a prayer niche) is purely decorative here, with no religious function. The smaller painted niches on either side hold ceramics

Decorative niches with ceramics in the grand hall, Ganch (carved plaster) work

Multi-level openwork niches in the wall of the grand hall with vases

Openwork niches are a signature feature of Uzbek homes. Each one is carved separately and painted by hand

The ceiling and carving — what came from where

The ceiling is the thing that gets me every time. It’s not a single dome but a complicated system of beams, coffers and stalactite forms — Muqarnas (the Arabic word for those tiered, hanging projections). I read that part of the carving was done by craftsmen from Khiva, part by craftsmen from Bukhara, and the styles are different: Khiva work is finer and more geometric, Bukhara work is larger with floral motifs.

Detail of the stalactite ceiling with painted multi-tiered Muqarnas — A stalactite cornice. Each projection is a separate, hand-painted piece

Geometric dome ceiling of the grand hall, eight-pointed star at center

Corner detail of the Muqarnas with painted niches

The geometric pattern is built around an eight-pointed star — a Central Asian classic. The corners of the Muqarnas are angled so the chandelier light catches them differently throughout the day

Detail of painted Ganch wall — floral ornament on white background — Ganch (carved plaster) work. The master first creates a smooth surface, then carves the design while the material is still wet, then paints it

Painted decorative panel with multi-tiered niches and floral ornament — A wall fragment with painted niches and vases. The pattern echoes the architecture of the hall itself in miniature

Columns, doors and the fountain up close

The columns are carved from Karagach (Asian elm — a local hardwood), the doors from walnut. Karagach is dense and fine-grained; it’s still used in Bukhara today for doors and columns. The carving isn’t just relief work — it’s openwork, all the way through. Like lace, only made of wood.

Carved gilded column up close, openwork wood carving and ball base

Carved walnut door close-up with floral ornament

Left — the base of a column: silvered with gold-leaf inlays, openwork carving running top to bottom. Right — a walnut door with carving covering every surface

Domed ceiling with large chandeliers framed by Muqarnas — Stand directly under the dome and look up — it makes you dizzy

Painted portrait on a bowl in one of the niches — Central Asian painting style — The portrait on the bowl is a nod to the wall paintings of Afrasiab found during Samarkand excavations. This one’s a replica, not the original

Narrative paintings around the main hall

There’s a doorway in one corner of the grand hall that leads to small ceremonial rooms — almost alcoves. That’s where I found the most stunning decor in the whole house — not just ornament, but actual figurative painting. Weddings, craft workshops, scenes of city life.

Corner painted ceiling with a large chandelier — The ceiling of the corner room. The light from the single chandelier throws strong shadows — part of the design only reads in daylight

Narrative wall paintings — wedding scene and a meeting with guests — Left — a wedding scene with the presenting of gifts, right — figures with grapes. These are 20th-century works, painted in the traditional manner on commission for the museum

Wall painting of a potter at work with onlookers — A potter at work. The themes are Uzbek crafts — potter, weaver, metal chaser. It’s basically a visual encyclopedia of trades

View through an arched doorway to the main hall and gilded ceiling — The view through an arched doorway back into the grand hall — the favorite shot of everyone who photographs here. Symmetrical composition, the entire main ceiling visible in one frame

The ceramics hall

After the ceremonial rooms, the actual collection begins. The first room has green walls and large windows facing the garden — it’s noticeably calmer after the exuberance of the grand hall. This is where the ceramics from the three main schools live: Rishtan (recognizable by its turquoise glaze, from the Fergana Valley), Gijduvan (earthy tones, the Bukhara school), and Urgut. Some plates carry the master potter’s mark.

Ceramics hall with large windows and display cases of plates and jugs — The ceramics hall. The light from the windows is soft — nothing glares on the cases

Display of Rishtan ceramics — plates and bowls with blue and purple painting — Rishtan ceramics. Recognizable by the dominant blue (called “ishkor” — an alkaline glaze that gives this distinctive shade)

Painted ceiling beams in the ceramics hall, traditional Uzbek ornament

Detail of painted ceiling with green-orange ornament

The ceilings here are simpler than in the grand hall, but still painted by hand. Geometric and floral motifs alternate beam by beam

The corridor of miniatures and the old clock

From the ceramics hall, you walk into a long corridor — a passageway with oak paneling, herringbone parquet floors, and an antique pendulum clock at the far end. This is the part of the house that has stayed closest to its “lived-in” state — i.e. how it was when Polovtsev lived here. And the walls of this corridor hold the museum’s collection of Uzbek miniature painting.

Long museum corridor with a grandfather clock at the end and artwork on the walls — That corridor. Small frames with miniatures line both walls; a large pendulum clock stands at the end

These aren’t medieval miniatures — they’re modern Uzbek school, mostly late-20th-century works by F. Rakhmatillaev and his circle. The style is traditional, like the Persian miniaturists: gouache and tempera on leather or paper, small format, fine details.

Three framed miniatures with ornaments on a white wall — The frames march down the white wall one after another, so nothing competes with the artwork itself

Miniature with a figure in an ornamented robe and Arabic calligraphy

Miniature with a figure in a robe with circular patterns — Omar Khayyam style

Left and right — single figures in traditional Chapan robes. Names and signatures appear on labels in four languages: Uzbek, English, Russian and Turkish

Miniature of a couple beneath a flowering tree, classical theme

Miniature with three musicians, a flutist and a Dutar player

The themes repeat: couples under trees, musicians, hunting, court scenes. This is the same canon medieval masters worked from

Miniature with three musicians surrounded by labels listing the works' titles — “Relax while listening to the music”

Dance and the hunt — two more classical themes. Leather as a base gives that warm background tone

Label for the miniature — Every label in the museum is in four languages. Convenient for international visitors — nothing has to be guessed

Hall of gold embroidery (Zardozi) and carved wood

After the corridor of miniatures, I walked into the hall of Bukhara gold embroidery — Zardozi (gold embroidery). The work is done with gold and silver thread on velvet, classically on caps, robes and ceremonial covers. The museum has several enormous panels — they used to be banners or ceremonial covers for receptions. Standing next to one, you realize: a single piece like this represents months and months of hand labor.

Velvet hanging with gold embroidery from Bukhara — Velvet with gold embroidery. The pattern is laid out from a preliminary drawing — the master arranges the thread and tacks it down with invisible stitches

Carved double door with floral ornament, museum exhibit

Wood-carving hall with several columns and carved doors — A carved door and the wood-carving hall. These doors used to live in mosques, madrasas and grand homes — each was made to order for a specific opening

Hall of lacquer miniatures

Lacquer boxes, plates, entire chess sets. Lacquer miniature painting came to Uzbekistan from Persia and really hit its stride during the Soviet period in the 20th century. The process: first the blank is coated in layers of black lacquer, then miniature scenes are painted on top with very fine brushes — hunts, battles, lovers, courtiers. Each box is its own little painting.

Display of lacquer boxes with miniatures on the lids — The lacquer hall. Box sizes range from a matchbox to a full-size chess set

Lacquer chess board with pieces, sides painted with scenes — The chess set is its own genre. Tiny scenes are painted around the perimeter; the pieces are also hand-painted

Collection of lacquer boxes with numbered miniatures

Small lacquer boxes with hunting and court-scene miniatures

The collection is numbered, with a label for each piece sitting nearby. Easy to find a specific item

Lacquer box with a hunting miniature — riders and animals

Lacquer box with a battle scene — riders and horses

The themes are the same as in book miniatures: hunts, battles, court scenes. Just a different format — a box lid is roughly 10 by 15 cm

Lacquer decorative plate with a miniature of two musicians

Overview of the lacquer-miniature display — boxes, plates, a feather

A plate with a pair of musicians, plus a wider view. The peacock feather in the middle isn’t random: it used to be used to dust miniatures, since a feather is gentler than a brush

Close-up of a painted box with mini-arch ornaments — Close-up of one of the boxes. The pattern imitates architecture — tiny arches lined up in rows, like the windows of a madrasa

Hall of furniture and decorative art

Right after the lacquer room comes the furniture hall. This is where it gets especially interesting for me: some pieces are made in European forms — vanity tables with mirrors, chairs with backs — but they were painted by Uzbek masters in local styles. This is 19th and early 20th century, when clients wanted “like in St. Petersburg” but the craftsmen translated everything into their own visual language anyway.

Painted decorative pavilion with a dome made in lacquer-miniature style — A decorative pavilion with a dome — a stylized mausoleum. It was used as a censer or for ceremonial candles

Carved wooden column close-up — ornament details and rosettes

Carved wooden chair with antique columns nearby — Left — Karagach (Asian elm) carving detail. Right — a carved chair with an openwork back and armrests

Group of painted furniture — vanity table, cabinet, chairs — in one hall — Painted furniture — a vanity with a mirror, a domed cabinet, chairs. Painted on a white ground with floral motifs

Hall of metalwork — chasing and copper

A small room of copper and brass utensils. Uzbek metal chasing — Kandakori in the local term — is done with chisels and punches: the master strikes the metal thousands of times until the pattern emerges. A large tray can take a master from three weeks to a month.

Two engraved Uzbek copper bowls of different sizes — Copper bowls. To give you a sense of scale: a master spends up to a month on a large tray

Huge brass tray with intricate chasing across the entire surface — The largest tray in the collection — about a meter across. The chasing is continuous — not a single “blank” centimeter

Hall of gold embroidery and jewelry

Another room dedicated to Zardozi (gold embroidery) and silver. Silver is the main material for women’s jewelry in Uzbekistan: Bukhara plates, Fergana pendants, Khorezm necklaces.

Three velvet panels with gold embroidery and display cases of silver jewelry — The jewelry hall. Ceremonial panels on the wall, handmade silver in the cases

Hall of carpets and musical instruments

The ethnographic part comes next: Turkmen and Uzbek carpets on the walls, musical instruments under glass, and in one corner a recreation of an actual living room — with a Takhta (low wooden platform), Kurpachi (narrow quilted mattresses) and a low table. A really atmospheric room!

Hall with Turkmen carpets on the wall and musical instruments under glass — The carpet hall. Left — a Turkmen felt carpet, right — an Uzbek gilam

Reconstruction of a living room — Takhta, carpets on walls, niches with cushions — A reconstruction of a living room. The Takhta (a low platform) is layered with Kurpachi (narrow quilted mattresses), and the walls are hung with carpets. This is what the formal room of a well-off 19th-century home looked like

Uzbek rubab string instrument with mother-of-pearl inlay

Uzbek dutar or tanbur — long string instrument with inlay

Left — a rubab (short neck, body of mulberry wood). Right — a dutar or tanbur (long neck, soft sound). Both are painted and inlaid

The suzani hall — Uzbek wall embroidery

If I had to pick one room you really shouldn’t miss — for me it’s the suzani room. The word itself comes from the Persian “suzan,” meaning needle. Suzani are large wall embroideries done in chain stitch or satin stitch on cotton or silk. In old Uzbekistan, every bride would prepare several Suzani as part of her dowry: one for the wedding room, another for the guest room, a third for the children’s room. Standing next to one and realizing that a single panel represents six months of one woman’s labor — it changes how you look at embroidery.

Modern suzani with peacocks and pattern on black velvet — A contemporary author piece: a suzani with peacocks. This one isn’t a dowry — it’s a decorative panel for collectors

Suzani with figures under a flowering tree and musicians — narrative embroidery — Narrative Suzani: figures under a tree, a musician with a Dutar, garden scenes. Modern school — themes from miniature painting transferred onto fabric

Suzani detail — figure of a woman with grapes surrounded by floral ornament — Detail of the central medallion. Each flower and leaf is a separate piece of work; a large Suzani takes at least six months

Vertical suzani with eight medallions on a dark blue background

Suzani detail — bird and large flower framed by a floral border

Left — the classic “8 medallions” composition. Right — bird and flower detail; bird-with-flower is a Bukhara motif

Robes and skullcaps

Next to the suzani hang the robes (Chapan) and there are display cases of Tubeteika (skullcaps). The Chapan was once worn by everyone in Uzbekistan, and from the fabric, the embroidery and the cut you could read instantly where someone was from, their age and their status. Same with the Tubeteika — it’s not just a hat, it’s a regional marker. Chust ones are black-and-white with almond shapes, Bukhara ones have gold, Fergana ones are bright with flowers.

Bukhara robe of green velvet with gold embroidery in geometric pattern — A ceremonial Bukhara Chapan. Green velvet, embroidered with metal thread. Robes like this were given as wedding gifts or to important guests

Chapan from dark Ikat with a white and red pattern

Two bright ikat robes on a wall above a case of skullcaps

Ikat Chapan made from “abr” — a silk fabric with the characteristic “blurry” pattern, achieved by dyeing the threads before weaving (more on this below)

Wall with two robes and cases of colorful skullcaps — The full display: robes above, Tubeteika below. The variety of patterns is striking

Collection of Uzbek skullcaps — colorful caps with embroidery — Tubeteika from different regions. Chust — black and white with an almond pattern, Bukhara — with gold, Fergana — bright with flowers

Classic 19th-and-20th-century suzani

After the robes comes a hall with older Suzani — 19th and early 20th century. They’re more restrained in color and larger in composition than the modern ones. These weren’t author pieces for collectors — these were things sewn for the family home: to hang, to cover, to use. Take a close look — the work is incredible.

Suzani hall — three large embroideries on the walls, orange-black tones — A wall with three large Suzani. The dominant color is orange-red with black outline — the classic palette for Samarkand and Tashkent

Red suzani with six large medallions on an orange ground — Suzani with medallions. Each medallion is a “sun” (kuk), a universal motif

Label for a JOYPUSH suzani-cover from Surkhandarya, 1963

Label for a Tomosha Palyak wall hanging from Pskent, late 19th century

Labels. Joypush — a wedding cover from Surkhandarya (the south of the country). Tomosha palyak — a wall hanging from Pskent (near Tashkent), late 19th century

Suzani detail — large red medallions on a yellow ground with floral ornament — A yellow-and-red Suzani up close. The medallions are satin-stitched, the background is chain-stitched

Ikat and the weaving workshop

The final hall is all about Ikat, my favorite Uzbek fabric. In Uzbek it’s also called “abr” or “abr-bandi,” meaning “tied clouds” — and that name perfectly describes how the finished piece looks. The technique is wild: the threads are dyed before weaving. Bundles of threads are tightly tied off in specific places, then dyed, then tied again and dyed in another color, and so on, several times over. When the threads are stretched on the loom and the weaving begins — the pattern appears almost on its own. Slightly blurred at the edges, which is exactly why it’s so recognizable.

Wall with long strips of ikat fabric in various patterns and colors — Strips of Ikat with different patterns. Each strip is its own composition — patterns are combined symmetrically

Traditional loom strung with ikat threads, red and gray pattern — A loom with the threads set up. This is a working model — they weave on it for demonstrations

Detail of a loom with bright ikat fabric

Close-up of weaving — threads, reed, and ikat-pattern fabric

Left — a wider view of the loom with nearly-finished cloth. Right — a detail: you can see the individual warp and weft threads

Adras (a half-silk fabric) with the “Snail Trail” pattern — this is a more modest technique, no pure silk, with a minimal motif

Suzani with floral embroidery on ikat fabric, in a wooden frame

Suzani-ikat detail — large red flower and floral tendrils — Suzani over Ikat — a more recent technique. The idea is to combine the two most signature Uzbek patterns in a single piece. The close-up shows just how dense the embroidery is — silk threads packed right against each other

Practical info

Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan

Address: 15 Rakatboshi street, Tashkent
GPS: 41.2880, 69.2742
Hours: 09:00–18:00 daily (ticket office until 17:30)
Entry: 30,000 UZS (~$2.50) for foreigners, 5,000 UZS (~$0.40) for Uzbek citizens
Photography: included in the ticket; tripods need separate approval
Time needed: 1.5 hours minimum, 2–2.5 is better
English/Russian guide: 100,000 UZS (~$8) per group, book ahead
Metro: nearest station is “Oybek,” 15 minutes on foot
Taxi: Yandex Go from the center — 15,000–25,000 UZS (~$1.20–$2)

How to get there

From Tashkent airport: Yandex taxi to the center (~30 min, 50,000–80,000 UZS / ~$4–$6.50), then another 10 minutes to the museum
From Chorsu or Hazrati Imam: metro to “Oybek” (green line), then 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by taxi
From a hotel in the center: walk or grab a taxi — the museum is 1–2 km from most tourist hotels

Tips

Combine it with: the State Museum of History of Uzbekistan and the Uzbekistan State Museum of Arts are nearby. You could squeeze both into one day, but I’d split them up — your eyes get tired after applied arts.
Dress code: there isn’t one. Shorts are fine, dresses are fine. This isn’t a religious site.
Souvenirs: there’s a small shop on the way out with modern Suzani, Tubeteika and ceramics. Prices are slightly above the bazaar, but the quality is guaranteed.
Cafe: nothing inside. Across the street, a couple of chaikhanas; closer to Shahrisabz street, decent cafes serving plov and lagman.
Best time of year: April–May and September–October. Tashkent summers hit +40 °C (104 °F). The museum has air conditioning, but the aivan stays hot.

How do I get to the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent?

The museum is at 15 Rakatboshi street. The nearest metro station is “Oybek,” about 15 minutes on foot. From anywhere in the center, the easiest option is Yandex Go: the ride takes 5–15 minutes and runs about 15,000–25,000 UZS (~$1.20–$2).

How much does it cost to enter the Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan?

Foreigners pay 30,000 UZS (~$2.50); Uzbek citizens pay 5,000 UZS (~$0.40). Photography and video are included; tripods may cost extra — best to confirm at the ticket window.

When’s the best time to visit?

Ideally weekday mornings, 10:00 to 12:00: the fewest visitors and the softest light in the grand hall. On weekends after 14:00, tour groups arrive. The best seasons are April–May and September–October, when Tashkent’s weather is comfortable.

How long do I need?

At least an hour and a half to walk through every room. If you want to really study the collections (miniatures, lacquer, suzani, ikat) and the ceilings in the grand hall — plan on 2.5 to 3 hours.

What’s a must-see inside?

The grand hall with the fountain and painted dome, the lacquer-miniature room, the Suzani, and the Ikat. Those are the four essentials. If you have time, linger in the miniatures room and check out the loom in the final hall.

Is it worth hiring a guide?

For a first visit — yes, especially if it’s your first trip to Uzbekistan. A guide will explain the differences between ceramic schools, what sets Bukhara embroidery apart from Khorezm work, and point out details in the architecture of the Polovtsev house you’d otherwise miss. If you already know Central Asian art, the labels are enough.

Can I take photos?

Yes — photo and video are allowed and included in the ticket. No flash, no tripod; tripods only by arrangement with the attendant.

My takeaway

Under one roof, you’ve got everything I love about Uzbekistan: Rishtan ceramics, Bukhara Suzani, Margilan Ikat, Bukhara Zardozi (gold embroidery). And it’s all inside a house that’s an exhibit in its own right — its own story about a Russian diplomat who invited local masters and gave them a free hand.

If I only had time for one place in Tashkent, I’d come here.

Tashkent Museum of Applied Arts: Inside the Polovtsev House

What this place actually is

The aivan and the front courtyard

The grand hall with the fountain and painted dome