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The information project "History of the country in the exhibits and archival documents of the Library of Elbassy" continues to acquaint the public with the unique exhibits presented in exhibitions or stored in the collections of the Library of Elbassy, gifted to the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev as a sign of gratitude and respect by presidents and heads of government of foreign states, delegations, international centers, various companies and individuals.
The painting "Falcon" made in a unique patented technique of creating relief paintings "kushkon" was presented by the famous antiquarian and collector Ulan Zhakeev in 2015.
In the center of the painting, there is a falcon sitting on a stone against the background of mountains. In the background, relief petroglyphs of the Tamgaly state historical-cultural and natural reserve are visible - rock paintings of the Bronze Age: the so-called sun-headed deity and the image of a horned animal.
The authors of the picture are honored artists, members of the Union of Artists of the Republic of Kazakhstan spouses Zhangir Umbetov and Amangul Ikhanova. They are known in Kazakhstan and abroad as the inventors of the author's technique "kushkon", for which an official patent was obtained in 1994. Artists create relief paintings from leather. Selected parts of calves' skins are taken for "canvases", which are made even thinner and stretched on the frame.
The process of creating paintings is very complex and time-consuming because everything is done manually. Artists process the skin, paint it, cut it, decorate with folds, and emboss it. When they put all this together in a mosaic image, it turns out a landscape painting-palimpsest. Zh. Umbetov and A. Ikhanova did not immediately achieve such skill in processing leather. It took 35 years of research.
Zh. Umbetov started as an ordinary master of applied art - he made Kazakh national items for holidays and museums - torsyk, kesekap, zhaglan. His works are still represented in the most reputable museums. And Amangul at the beginning of her creative activity was weaving carpets - carpets, alasha, korzhyn, tapestries. Together, they visited many parts of the country, studied plants, and learned how to prepare various environmentally friendly paints from them.
Mostly artists draw their stories from the Kazakh national culture. A lot was taken from the open-air museum in Tamgaly, which is 180 kilometers from Almaty. Rock engravings of ancient architects are pressed on the skin with scrupulous accuracy.
The artists' works were exhibited in the USA, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, etc. They are in the collections of the State Museum of Art named after A. Kasteev, many other museums and private collections in different countries.
The works of the couple were once presented to Queen Elizabeth II of England, King Juan Carlos II of Spain, the City hall of Frankfurt am Main, the family of former President of the United States of America James Carter, and one of the early works of artists decorates the hall of the UN headquarters in New York.