As befits a Gallery at the crossroads of cultures, La Maison de l’Ouzbekistan stands on the famous Rue de Rivoli at the crossroads of the city’s renowned Marais and Quartier Latin districts, just 400m from the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), perfectly at home between the historic architectural monuments and modern art galleries that abound in this area.
The Gallery introduces some of Uzbekistan’s most vibrant up-and-coming artists, fashion designers, writers and artisans. Steeped in their country’s thousand-year old customs, these skilled craftsfolk are forging a new contemporary style, creatively combining time-honoured traditions with modern designs to bring you a range of stylish bespoke items from ceramics to silks that will add an exotic splash of colour to any home.
A tasteful blend of ancient and modern, Oriental and European. La Maison de l’Ouzbekistan is so much more than a boutique. It’s the heart of the Silk Road in the heart of Paris.
Stepping into La Maison de l’Ouzbekistan is like stepping into a scene from 1001 Nights. But with a modern twist. Here in this crisp, state-of-the-art boutique, Silk Road enigma blends seamlessly with modern design.
Entering the boutique, you pass between two exquisite wooden pillars. Hand-carved in Uzbekistan, these pillars are fashioned after the magnificent uprights that support the famous Juma prayer hall in Khiva (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) while on your right there is a cosy nook with a traditional low, carved table and soft cushions, ideal for sipping aromatic tea from the fine ceramic tea bowls on sale here.
This first hall, light and spacious with its bright lampshades attractively finished with ikat silk, is separated from the next by a neat brick wall featuring an unmistakably Oriental archway that leads to inner chambers displaying a tantalising range of Uzbek pieces, each dish, platter and tea bowl more exquisite than the next. But before you rush to admire those treasures, pause a moment to take a look at the arch itself. Stunning blue tiles – each one lovingly hand-made in Uzbekistan – are set into the archway to create a mesmerising floral mosaic of rich blues and yellows reminiscent of the breath-taking tilework Central Asian architecture is so famous for.