Wood and papier-mache objects
Many cultures make vessels and household objects from gourds, often giving them original decorative finishes. In Uzbekistan, gourds were also used for practical items, but the most distinctive examples are nosqovoq snuffboxes, made from specially grown small gourds.
Uzbek snuffboxes vary in shape, size, and decoration. Their production involves careful drying, coloring, patterned tinting, polishing, and sometimes finishing with noble metals and colored stones. The result is a compact object that combines utility, ornament, and local taste.
For a traveler, these snuffboxes are interesting not only as souvenirs, but also as evidence of how Uzbek craftsmen transformed humble natural materials into refined decorative pieces. In museums and workshops, they are worth comparing with carved wood, lacquer miniature, and metalwork, because the same love of pattern appears across several crafts.