Sharofiddin Yusupov. Photo: society.uz
Sharofiddin Yusupov, a distinguished master of the Rishtan school of ceramics, has died in Uzbekistan just six days shy of his 80th birthday, according to a statement from the Hunarmand (Craftsman) Association.
Born on April 29, 1945, in the Rishtan District of the Fergana Region into a family of hereditary potters, Yusupov began learning the craft in childhood under the guidance of his father, master Isomidin Yusupov (1884–1959), as well as other mentors. In 1963, he began working at the Rishtan Ceramic Factory, where he later served as chief artist from 1978 to 1980.
“Sharofiddin Yusupov mastered and creatively expanded the traditions of the Rishtan school of pottery, enriching it with new forms, color combinations, symbolic motifs, and other distinctive features,” the Hunarmand Association stated. His plates, jugs, bowls, saucers, and other ceramic works often featured motifs such as the four-leaf clover, almond blossom, and pomegranate flower, rendered in hues of greenish-blue, brownish-purple, and greenish-blue against a white (milky) background.
Sharofiddin Yusupov. Photo: uza.uz
Yusupov was an academician of the Academy of Arts of Uzbekistan, an honored artist of Uzbekistan, and a recipient of the “Fidokorona xizmatlari uchun” and “El-yurt hurmati” orders. He participated in exhibitions of ceramic art both in Uzbekistan and abroad. His works are housed in museums and private collections across the country and internationally—including the Kyrgyzstan Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow, the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg, the State Hermitage Museum, the Estonian National Museum in Tartu, and many others.
It was a local art historian who dubbed him the “Paganini of Rishtan,” a title that captured the virtuosity and poetic elegance of his craft.
The editorial team at Fergana extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of ustо Yusupov.
