FACING THE FUTURE: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHAHRIXON KNIFE-MAKING.

Abstract

Situated in Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley, Shahrixon knife-making (Shahrixon pichoqchiligi) represents a continuous lineage of workshop knowledge, ritual practice, and regional identity. Yet the field now encounters a conjuncture of technological, market, legal-ethical, and diplomatic pressures that collectively test its capacity for sustainable transmission. This article advances a foresight analysis of near-term risks and opportunities (2025–2030), integrating theories of gift exchange (Mauss), regalia and symbolic capital (Bourdieu), and the social lives/agency of things (Appadurai; Gell) with evidence from material studies (metallography, epigraphy), museum catalogues and conservation files, workshop ethnography, and mobility/market metadata (auction records 1990–2025; exhibition loans 2000–2025). I argue that a provenance-first, truth-to-materials governance model—operationalized through digital passports, honest labeling of composites, consent-based motif licensing, and cooperative export—can reposition Shahrixon production in premium cultural markets while safeguarding ritual meanings. The analysis specifies standards for quality control (heat-treat documentation, geometric tolerances), outlines an “exhibition diplomacy” protocol for equitable loans, and proposes a light-touch digital infrastructure (voice-logged SOPs; camera-based vision QC) that augments, rather than supplants, artisanal authorship. The result is a pragmatic roadmap: curate mobility responsibly, share value with makers, and make conservation data and lineages legible to publics and buyers. Such measures render lineage auditable, thereby converting heritage into durable symbolic and economic capital.