Azernews.Az

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum preserves magnificent samples of shebeke art (stained glass).

Art lovers have a chance to enjoy a video about shebeke art, stored in the museum`s "Ceramics, Glass, Wood, and Paper" collection.

Shebeke art appeared in the Azerbaijani architecture from the 9th-12th centuries. The earliest examples of Shebeke art, made of stone were discovered in the palaces, simple houses, baths, and mosques.

The main feature of this art is based on the fact that no glue or nails have been used during the construction of the figures. Little pieces of colored glass are inserted into a wooden lattice usually made from walnut or oak trees.

Folk craftsmen of the 17th-18th centuries used in their compositions colored glass with thickness of only one millimeter.

Nowadays no one can reach this skill level: the material used by them is glass about three millimeters thick.

When it comes to shebeke, the first thing which comes to mind is the Palace of Sheki Khans. Built in the 18th century without a single nail with luxurious wall paintings and openwork windows, the Palace of Sheki Khans is rightly called the pearl of Azerbaijani architecture.