Ceramics are very diverse in its color and design. It is also regional in terms of shape, design and colour. The most well known centres for ceramics are Rishtan and Gurumsay situated in Fergana valley and Khorezm. They are famous for their glazed white and blue ceramics. The regions producing multicoloured ceramics are Gidjduvan, Shakhrisabz, Tashkent and Samarkand. Gidjduvan is the area that has always been highly regarded by experts for its exceptional ceramic art especially because of its rich dolour, golden yellow, dark brown and green tones. Bowls, piolas (national cups) and dishes are painted inside and outside.
Painted ceramic toys (bushtack) are produced in a little village called Uba, 25 miles outside Bukhara.
During the second half of the 20th century, miniature plastic toys made by Samarkand craftsmen became very popular. These pieces were not only amusing as toys; they are also depicted scenes filled with people’s characteristics, humour and naive stories.
Another kind of Uzbek craft typical for Samarkand is the art of making crockery, smoking pipes (chilim) and snuffboxes (noskadu) from little gourds.
