PAST AND PRESENT IN TRADITIONAL TUAREG ART IN TUNISIA M. V. NIKOLAEVA Candidate of Philological Sciences Keywords: Tunis, Gafsa, Tuareg, carpet weaving Global processes taking place in the modern world make it more and more open and recognizable. But many secrets still remain deep inside the seemingly well-known world of today. They are encoded in ancient symbols and hidden signs, which are revealed only to those who seek a deep knowledge of the world in its historical movement. Such symbols of the past, revealing the world around us as a way of expression, a form of historical narration and a special vision of modernity, are captured in the traditional art of the countries of North Africa, the Arab Maghreb, in particular - in the art of carpet weaving of the modern Tuaregs of Tunisia. Over the centuries, Berber artists and artisans have embraced various, sometimes contradictory elements of art - from traditional images of the ancient African world, and then the Islamic visual canon, to modern forms of symbolic and abstract painting. In their works, it is easy to find evidence of the influence of various schools: from Carthage, Roman antiquity and Byzantium to Arab-Muslim and modern French civilization. THE ORIGINS OF THE OLDEST TUAREG ART Archaeological discoveries provide constant evidence that Carthaginian fabrics were widely known throughout the ancient world. At the same time, some Arab researchers (Muhammad Issachar et al.) recognize that the art of Phoenician Carthage and ancient Rome, whose architectural monuments have survived to this day in Carthage, Shershella, Timgad and other places, did not have as deep an impact on local traditions as Arab-Muslim art, which took deep roots in the countries of the world. North Africa and Spain 1. Berber craftsmen-from Ores, Greater and Lesser Kabylia to the mountainous regions of the Reef-created magnificent carpets, fabrics, jewelry and pottery. Geometric ornaments - triangles, rhombuses, squares and squares-have long ... Read more