ABR: Ikat Robes from Central Asia, Elena Tsareva

Abr: Ikat Robes from Central Asia immerses readers in the kaleidoscopic brilliance of ikat robes—known locally as abr—through a collection of exquisitely preserved garments drawn from a major Russian archive. These striking silk robes, once worn across Uzbekistan and beyond, speak not only of personal status but of shifting identity, cultural exchange and sartorial storytelling in Central Asia’s rich tapestry. The vibrant, fluid patterns—born of master dyers resisting the pull of warp and weft—reveal a visual language that transcended borders and inspired early avant-garde artists, offering a textile narrative both hypnotic and historically potent.

This volume deftly balances sensorial delight with scholarly rigour. Stunning full‑page photography brings palette and pattern to life, while Elena Tsareva’s essays uncover weaving techniques, gender roles, and social contexts. The result is more than a catalogue—it’s a cultural passport to wearers’ lives, interwoven with trade routes, atelier practices, and the resilience of tradition across modernity. Rich in both aesthetic and academic insight, Abr elevates textile history to a visual and intellectual feast.

About the Author
Elena Tsareva is a distinguished textile historian and curator at St Petersburg’s Kunstkamera (Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography), with deep expertise in Central Asian weave traditions. Her meticulous research on ikat, carpets and felt connects archaeological methods with cultural geography and museum scholarship—revealing how textiles serve as both art and ethnographic archive.

Publication date: 2025
Publisher: Hali Publications
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781898113942