Collection of Nogai costumes of associate professor of KBSU presented at an exhibition in Essentuki

From October 6 to November 30, 2022 in the Essentuki Museum of Local Lore named after A. V.P. Shpakovsky hosts a personal exhibition «Heritage» of the Honored Artist of the KChR, Honored Worker of Culture of the KChR, member of the Union of Artists of the Russian Federation Yuri Karasov, which presents a series of works «Nogai people» and a series of paintings about his native land — Karachay-Cherkessia.

Together with the works of Yuri Karasov, the exposition includes a collection of national costumes created by his daughter, Doctor of Art History, Associate Professor of the Department of Architectural Design at the Institute of Architecture, Construction and Design of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after H.M. Berbekov, a member of the International Association «Union of Designers», chairman of the jury of regional competitions «Circassian World», «Nartiada», the republican competition of professional skills «Tailor», a member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia and the Union of Designers of Russia — Fatima Kanokova. Speaking about the main idea of ​​the exhibition, Fatima Kanokova notes:

«Through the prism of fine and decorative arts, we want to plunge the viewer into the world of material and spiritual Nogai culture, to acquaint them with the Nogai epic, their folklore, and traditional art».

The doctor of art history told how interest in the Nogai national costume arose:

«I began to collect a collection of costumes from childhood. My dad is a well-known artist in the KChR, Yuri Karasov, and I spent all my childhood in his studio. Apparently, even in childhood, interest in the traditional costume of his people arose. Dad himself studied the folk costume, went on expeditions, and looking at my father’s notebooks, I was inspired by these costumes. Also very often our family was visited by the Nogai artist Srazhdin Batyrov, he told how he collected costumes, how he reconstructed them. And since then I have determined my future path».

Today, Fatima Kanokova already has several collections of Nogai costumes, which are an exact copy of old outfits. The designer sewed luxurious Nogai costumes herself. Some of them are reconstructions from old photographs. For example, the costume of a karagashka leg, a photograph of which is kept in a museum in Astrakhan. According to F. Kanokova, the bride’s father spent 25 heads of cattle on this costume. This information is archived.

«Silver was expensive, expensive gold threads, from which galloons were woven — in karagashka legs they are the widest on dresses. The costume was sheathed with coins, which were also very expensive. In the national costume of the Nogais, as in other peoples of the North Caucasus, there are no random elements. Every detail, every pattern and every decoration can tell a lot of interesting things about its owner. For example, by dress it was possible to determine whether a girl was married or not. Married girls had a characteristic ornament on their dresses — a square with crossed galloons, unmarried girls had an empty square. Many peoples of the Caucasus have galloon hats. The stripes on the cap spoke of the number of the girl’s brothers. The tops of the hats in the form of a bird, the embroidery located on the caftan, in the form of a bird element, the sleeves as a symbol of the wings of a bird — the whole outfit said that its owner was a young unmarried girl, ready to be wooed», — the art critic shared.

And she also told what the uniqueness of Nogai costumes is:

«A lot of jewelry, exaggeratedly large, massive. They were not oversaturated with ornaments. This is a characteristic feature of Nogai jewelry. The Nogai lived in the steppe, a people with an open soul, as wide as the steppe, and the decorations were large and massive. In the conditions of nomadic life, it was impossible to make fine jewelry due to lack of time. In addition to national costumes, Fatima Kanokova has a good collection of ancient Nogai jewelry, which she has been collecting for five years. Many pieces of jewelry were given to me with a request not to resell them, to keep them, to exhibit them, so each item has a certain value and history,” — she explained.

The art critic showed the Nogai large ringing rings, which were mainly worn by older women in the family. When they rang rings in the steppe, the whole family gathered for this ringing. Temporal pendants (temporal pendants), which were hung on headdresses. Wide massive bracelets, adorned with precious stones, engraved with the name of the owner. National clothes vividly reflect the features of life, folk etiquette and lifestyle of the Nogais. And, peering into the intricate patterns, rich ornaments and decorations, iridescent fabrics and rich colors in costumes used in the past, you can learn a lot about the people, the associate professor of KBSU is sure. During the functioning of the exhibition, hundreds of visitors learned a lot of interesting things about the life of the Nogai people, the features of their customs and culture. Alexander Rubets, Vice-President of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia for the South of Russia, is sure that acquaintance with the traditions of other peoples makes people’s lives richer and brighter. High appreciation for the work of Yuri Karasov and Fatima Kanokova were given by the head of the Nogai municipal district of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Magomet Sanglibaev, noting that they are of great importance in strengthening friendly relations between people of different nationalities and religions.