The State Museum of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan has opened an exhibition entitled ‘The Craft of Ogulabat Eje – A Model School for Turkmen Women’. The exhibition is timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, according to IIC.

The exhibition is dedicated to the creative legacy of Ogulabat Berdimuhamedova, who contributed to the preservation of decorative and applied arts traditions and their transmission to the younger generation. The central place is occupied by the master's personal works — a women's wedding headdress called a ‘kurte’ and traditional woollen socks.

The ‘kurte’, made in 1971, attracts particular attention. It took 20 days to make. The complexity of the work is compared by the people to ‘digging a well with a needle,’ which reflects the high level of skill of the author.

The exhibition also features professional tools, including devices for weaving ‘alaja’, national woven amulets made of multicoloured threads. A tool made of elm wood, which the master used in her work, is also on display.

According to the organisers, the project demonstrates the continuity of generations in traditional handicrafts.