Shebeke art reaches Ukraine

By Laman Ismayilova

Stained-glass windows (shebeke) by national artists will decorate the facade of the Vatican Embassy in Ukraine.

The art work is ready to be sent to Europe. It is 6 m high and 1.5 m wide and consists of 8 parts, used 6,000 pieces of glass and wood, and national motifs, Report informed.

National artist Ilgar Rasulzadeh prepared the work together with his father, famous shebeke artist Tofig Rasulov.

The relevant documents are being prepared to send the work to Ukraine. The Vatican has ordered a truck to deliver the handicrafts of Sheki artists safely. Three artists, including Tofig Rasulov, will leave to Kyiv to set up the network.

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, some 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.

Famous for its magnificent shebeke art, the Palace of Sheki Khans never cease to amaze visitors. 

The Palace was built in the 18th century without a single nail with fascinating wall paintings and openwork windows, the Palace of Sheki Khans is rightly called the pearl of Azerbaijani architecture.

The summer residence is renowned for the lavish decoration of its exterior and interior. Large portions of the residence's facade, including the entire southern elevations of the central halls on both floors, are covered by a mosaic of colored glass set in a wooden latticework (shebeke).

The interior walls of the residence are covered entirely with frescoes painted at different times during the eighteenth century.