Khujum Silk Carpet Factory

About

Revival of centuries-old traditions (1992)

The art of silk carpet weaving flourished at the crossroads of the Great Silk Road, but in the 20th century many secrets of hand weaving were under threat of disappearing. In 1992, the «Khujum» factory opened in Samarkand, bringing together the knowledge of hereditary master Hadji Baba Badgisi and the experience of local weavers. Today the family enterprise is run by his children — son Abdullakh and daughter Zaynab, and more than 400 craftswomen work in the production workshops and from home.

Full technological cycle of hand production

A tour of the «Khujum» factory allows you to trace in detail all the stages of the birth of a silk carpet:

Silk preparation: Mulberry silkworm cocoons are softened in hot water, the finest threads are unwound and twisted into strong elastic fibers.

100% natural dyeing: The factory fundamentally does not use chemical dyes. Recipes tested over centuries from local natural raw materials are used:

Madder root (Rubia tinctorum) gives deep terracotta and wine-red tones;

Walnut husks and shells — noble coffee and chocolate shades;

Pomegranate peel — a sunny golden-yellow color;

Indigofera leaves — deep blue and turquoise;

Wild asparagus stems — olive-green shimmer.

Weaving on vertical looms: The density of weaving of Samarkand carpets is striking: on average, 1 cm² has from 120 to 160 knots (and one square meter — from 800,000 to 1,500,000 knots). A super craftswoman ties up to 25–30 knots per minute.

Creation time: Making one medium-sized item takes from 6 months to 2–3 years of painstaking daily work.

Ornaments and artistic value

Unlike geometric Bukhara or Tekin patterns, the Samarkand carpet school is dominated by floral, architectural and Sogdian motifs: «tree of life», lotus and pomegranate flowers, domes and medallions inspired by the mosaics of the Tillya-Kori Madrasah and the Gur-Emir Mausoleum. Silk carpets do not fade over time, do not become electrically charged, are hypoallergenic and, when viewed under different angles of lighting, change their color and silky sheen.

Conditions for visitors and tourists

The factory is a popular tourist site in Samarkand. For guests, informative tours of the workshops are conducted with demonstrations of looms, drying rooms and the dye house. In the showroom you can see a collection of carpets, wall panels, silk suzani and scarves, as well as arrange delivery of certified items to any point in the world