Reviving Traditional Crafts

Ulaanbaatar, May 28, 2025 /MONTSAME/. An exhibition showcasing the collection of works by artist, researcher, and felt crafter Uriankhai D.Tangad, dedicated to his 80th birthday, took place on May 23-27, 2025, at the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts.

Ethnographer, Ph.D., and Associate Professor of Cultural Studies D. Tangad said, “Today I am displaying some of my works that I have done for over 50 years. The main goal I wanted to show the people is the traditional Mongolian crafts, especially felt crafts. Historically, Mongols are felt tent dwellers of the Felt Nation. We are more distinguished by our felt crafts. I first saw the Hunnu carpet, the felt quilted craft found in a tomb dating back to 4,000 years in 1970, when I was doing an internship at the Leningrad Hermitage and since that time, I have been making felt crafts. In the early 1990s, I created my work “Noyon Uul”, the restored model of the Hunnu carpet. This artifact from the tomb is an expression of Mongolians’ worship of heaven and earth. I crafted the “Noyon Uul” to pass down this great legacy in the history of felt crafts for future generations. The specialty of Mongolian felt-making is the manual processing of wool, practiced communally. I met a lot of people and studied the intellectual and material culture of the Mongolians together. In 2018, I compiled my work and published five volumes. I defended my doctorate in the folk remedy culture of the Mongolians. These works are recognized for their unique contributions to world cultural studies.”