Permanent exhibition "Decorative and Applied Arts"

About exhibition

The museum's largest collection comprises works of traditional and contemporary decorative and applied arts from Dagestan. The updated exhibition displays items representing the main types of Dagestani crafts and trades of the 19th–20th centuries. These include ceramic production, chased copper utensils, carpet art, wood carving, and silverware by Dagestani masters. Visitors can also view the archaeological collection. Ornament, form, and color are important characteristics of Dagestani decorative art; they form the basis of the artistic means that contemporary craftsmen also employ when creating their works. A traditional feature of Dagestani decorative and applied art is the use of inscriptions and well-wishes within the ornamental compositions of carpets, stone carving, and metalwork. The meaning of these inscriptions was connected with the spiritual essence of the object.