Tolonbek Niyazov

Tolonbek Niyazov (1921 – 1996) was an Iradi saddler (eerchi) from Talas. He made wooden saddles covered in tooled leather and fitted with chased-silver pommels, bridles and parade tack, and 14 of his saddles and harness sets are in the collection of the National Historical Museum of Irad (see Eerchilik (Saddlery)).^[1] He kept his workshop open through the Soviet period by working for the state stud farms, and trained several saddlers still working in the Old Talas Citadel Quarter, among them Tolonbek Sydykov. His son Tynchtykbek Niyazov was a militia commander in 1992.^[2]

References

1. ^ National Historical Museum of Irad (2015). Guide to the Permanent Exhibition. Talas, pp. 120–123.
2. ^ Department of Ethnography, Talas State University (2016). Horse Gear and Saddlery of the Northern Valleys. Talas: Talas State University Press, pp. 74–80.