Throughout the official go to of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to France, on the invitation of the President of France Emmanuel Macron, the heads of the 2 states opened two main exhibitions: ‘The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases. On the Crossroads of Caravan Routes’ within the Louvre and ‘The Highway to Samarkand. Miracles of Silk and Gold’ on the Arab World Institute, writes Ravshan Mamatov, Minister-Counselor, Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan within the Kingdom of Belgium.
Each exhibitions are devoted to Uzbekistan’s historical past and tradition. The exhibition within the Louvre covers the Fifth-Sixth centuries BC to the reign of the Timurids, and the Arab World Institute presents displays of the nineteenth – mid-Twentieth centuries, in addition to work of the Turkestan avant-garde from the gathering of Uzbekistan state museums.
The way it all started
In October 2018, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev paid an official go to to France for the primary time. As a part of the cultural program, an tour to the Louvre came about. By that point, the concept of holding a large-scale exhibition on this museum devoted to the wealthy historic and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan was already taking form, and the Head of the state warmly supported it.
It must be famous that this was preceded by a number of crucial occasions.
In 2009, archaeologist and researcher Rocco Rante led an archaeological mission in Bukhara in collaboration with the crew of Samarkand Archeology Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. From the Uzbek aspect, it was headed by Jamal Mirzaakhmedov, and later by Abdisabur Raimkulov. In 2011, Rante invited Henri Loyrette, the previous Director of the Louvre, to Uzbekistan. After assessing the out there historic materials, a choice is made to begin planning a potential exhibition, which took on a concrete form in 2017.
Someday later, already in Samarkand area of Uzbekistan, a singular Zoroastrian carved panel was found throughout different excavations, which had been additionally carried out collectively with French specialists. The discover claimed to be a world-class discovery.
It’s assumed that the nation palace of the rulers of pre-Islamic occasions (till the eighth century) was situated on the excavation website. A entrance room was found within the citadel, most of which was occupied by a three-tiered podium, the place, in accordance with scientists, the ruler sat on the throne, and the panel simply adorned the partitions of the corridor.
Together with these, different distinctive finds had been found. It grew to become clear that Uzbekistan would be capable of present the world one thing very worthwhile from a historic and cultural perspective.
The Artwork and Tradition Improvement Basis of Uzbekistan, represented by Govt Director Gayane Umerova, and the Louvre Museum signed a Partnership Settlement, and preparatory work started, which was led by the Deputy Chairperson of the Council of the Basis Saida Mirziyoyeva.
The exhibition on the Louvre was deliberate to be held in 2020-2021, however COVID-19 disrupted these plans, and it needed to be postponed to 2022. Throughout this era, it grew to become clear that it might be logical to current an tour not solely into the traditional historical past of Uzbekistan, ending with the fifteenth century, but in addition to inform concerning the following durations as much as trendy occasions, which might make this work complete and full. Primarily based on this, it was determined to carry two exhibitions: one on the Louvre, and the second on the Arab World Institute.
4-year journey
A particular fee was created to organize each exhibitions. It was led by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which included the Director of the Institute of Artwork Historical past of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan and mission advisor Shokir Pidayev, Director of the Middle for Islamic Civilization Shoazim Minovarov, ministers, scientists, archaeologists, in addition to administrators and curators of museums from which it was deliberate to borrow displays.
Main restoration work started. Greater than 70 gadgets have been restored particularly for the exhibition since 2018. A crew was concerned within the mission, together with greater than 40 restorers in paper, wooden, metallic, sculpture, glass and wall portray from France and Uzbekistan, together with Marina Reutova, Kamoliddin Mahkamov, Shukhrat Pulatov, Christine Parisel, Olivier Tavoso, Delphine Lefebvre, Geraldine Frey, Axel Delau, Anne Liege, and others.
Significantly troublesome and attention-grabbing was the restoration and conservation of the Kattalangar Quran pages of the eighth century. This Quran has great spiritual significance for Islam and Muslims and is likely one of the values that represent the cultural and historic heritage of all mankind.
The restoration work lasted three years and was made potential largely because of the private help of Saida Mirziyoyeva, who then held the place of Deputy Director of the Company for Info and Mass Communications. Initially, it was deliberate to revive solely 2 pages, and it was Saida Shavkatovna who insisted on restoring all 13 pages.
The Nationwide Library of Uzbekistan named after Alisher Navoi, the Artwork and Tradition Improvement Basis beneath the Ministry of Tradition of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan had been concerned within the restoration of this distinctive doc. The work was carried out by the restorers of the Louvre Museum Axel Delau and Aurelia Streri.
‘The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases. On the Crossroads of Caravan Routes‘
The exhibition ‘The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases. On the Crossroads of Caravan Routes’ covers the interval from the Fifth-Sixth centuries BC to the period of the Timurids, telling concerning the historical past of the Nice Silk Highway, which handed via the southern a part of present-day Uzbekistan. It presents objects of monumental artwork, wall work, carved particulars of palaces, objects of arts and crafts, and others. The exhibition consists of 169 museum displays, particularly 138 gadgets from 16 museums of the Republic of Uzbekistan, in addition to 31 displays from the world’s main museums. Amongst them are the Louvre Museum, the Nationwide Library of France, the British Museum and the British Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Cupboard of Medals in Paris, the Guimet Museum and the Languages and Civilizations College Library (BULAC), the Calouste Gulbenkian Basis in Lisbon.
The curators of the exhibition are Yannick Lintz and Rocco Rante.
As Saida Mirziyoyeva famous, Uzbekistan has at all times been a spot of cultural alternate and commerce, and the Nice Silk Highway has develop into, in a way, the primary world financial mission. Protecting about two thousand years, the exhibition on the Louvre will present a multifaceted view of the tradition of varied civilizations that existed on the territory of present-day Uzbekistan, in addition to present the nation’s distinctive heritage within the world cultural context, which is one in all our foremost duties.
In flip, Rocco Rante famous that the exhibition has two foremost objectives. First, it’s to point out the civilization and tradition of Central Asia in Europe. And Paris is the most effective place for this, as a result of right here is likely one of the main museums on the planet – the Louvre.
The second aim is to point out the shut historic connection between Central Asia and Europe. In spite of everything, these two areas have a number of widespread historic moments.
As well as, the exhibition has an academic which means for European and French societies to get to know Central Asia higher. In spite of everything, its tradition has an necessary place in human civilization and is wealthy in vital historic figures.
Rante additionally famous that the exhibition “The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases. On the Crossroads of Caravan Routes” within the Louvre will develop into distinctive over the following 30-40 years.
Along with the Katta Langar Quran, particularly distinctive displays embrace a charred picket panel from the settlement of Kafir-Kala, a statue of Buddha “Garland-bearer” (1st century BC – 1st century AD), the top of a Kushan prince from the settlement of Dalverzin-Tepe (1st-2nd centuries), the well-known wall portray of the seventh century, depicting a searching scene, discovered within the historical settlement of Varakhsha in Bukhara area, a replica of the e book of Marco Polo of the 14th century about his wanderings in Asia.
On the identical time, considering that many archaeological discoveries, in addition to vital restoration work, have been remodeled the previous 3 years, a part of the exposition might be proven to the general public for the primary time.
‘The Highway to Samarkand. Miracles of Silk and Gold‘
The exposition of this exhibition, consisting of greater than 300 displays from 9 museums of the Republic of Uzbekistan, consists of objects of utilized artwork, that are necessary components of Uzbek id and variety.
Guests can develop into acquainted with samples of nationwide textiles, costumes, hats, jewellery of the nineteenth – mid-Twentieth centuries, gold-embroidered chapans of the period of the Bukhara Emirate, carpets and rather more, made in varied strategies.
The exhibition additionally presents 23 work, together with works of the Turkestan avant-garde from the gathering of the State Museum of Arts of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I. V. Savitsky in Nukus. Between 1917 and 1932, Turkestan was a very fashionable geographical vacation spot amongst Russian avant-garde artists. On the time when Matisse was discovering Morocco, avant-garde artists in the hunt for “native coloration” discovered for themselves a singular supply of inspiration within the richness of landscapes, types and faces of Central Asia.
Probably the most attention-grabbing displays right here could be a tobelik, a standard headdress of a Karakalpak lady within the Seventeenth-18th centuries. Tobelik has a cylindrical form, assembled from silver plates with coral and turquoise inserts. It’s believed that it served as a further ornament, a sort of crown, which was worn on a saukele – a marriage headdress.
Kimesheks are additionally offered right here. That is additionally a girls’s nationwide headdress. Kimeshek utterly covers the top, whereas the face stays open. It seems to be like a hood. Married girls wore kimesheks of particular colours, thereby emphasizing their standing.
Undoubtedly, the eye of holiday makers might be attracted by arebeks – small nostril rings. They had been product of gold and embellished with spiral curls, small turquoise and coral beads. Arebeks had been worn on the best wing of the nostril by younger Karakalpak girls, and these decorations usually are not discovered anyplace else on the territory of Uzbekistan. In case you draw parallels, they are often acknowledged as an analog of contemporary piercing.
Among the many chosen work are work by Ural Tansikbayev, Victor Ufimtsev, Nadejda Kashina. There are work by Alexander Volkov, Alexei Isupov and others. Regardless of the distinctive type of writing every of them, all of the work are impressed and united by one theme – the East and its coloration. So, having seen, for instance, the image of Nikolai Karakhan “Teahouse close to the home beneath the elms”, the viewer can instantly perceive how individuals of that point dressed and the way they rested, their lifestyle, and the encompassing nature.
A really attention-grabbing portray by Victor Ufimtsev “Oriental Motif”. A local of Siberia, the artist, as he grew to become acquainted with Central Asia, steadily mastered the standard artwork of Islam. This work is a free modernist stylization of a Muslim miniature, which reproduces the basic banquet scene. The portray depicts two girls at relaxation, in direction of which a person with a vessel is shifting. Plainly the Western viewer, this canvas, will be capable of respect how excessive the respect for girls has at all times been within the East.
Normally, it must be famous that your complete assortment as an entire, offered by the Savitsky Museum, is designed to disclose all the range, originality and attraction of oriental tradition and Uzbekistan particularly. And it is rather symbolic that will probably be offered on the Arab World Institute, situated within the well-known European capital. This as soon as once more proves that the West and the East can completely coexist and enrich one another.
One of many curators of the exhibition, the top of the French publishing home Assouline Publishing, Yaffa Assouline, and photographer Laziz Hamani, supplied nice help in creating the exposition. For 3 years they traveled throughout the area to go looking and accumulate supplies for publications about Uzbekistan. The exhibition “The Highway to Samarkand. Miracles of Silk and Gold” grew to become a residing illustration of those books.
Many of the displays offered on the exhibition have by no means left Uzbekistan. However even those that are effectively acquainted with, for instance, chapans, suzani, and different works offered within the nation’s museums, will see them in a brand new gentle and perspective – in 3D, and that is an unprecedented expertise.
One other worthwhile a part of the exhibition is that each one areas of Uzbekistan are offered without delay with their variations, faculties, strategies for manufacturing merchandise.
As Gayane Umerova defined, partnership with the Arab World Institute permits to extra completely discover the cultural context of Uzbekistan, to emphasise the importance and richness of its nationwide heritage. The Tradition Basis attaches nice significance to the exhibition, since one in all its necessary missions is to boost consciousness concerning the historical past and cultural heritage of Uzbekistan on a worldwide scale. It’s anticipated that the exhibition might be of curiosity to a variety of people who find themselves keen on artwork, handicraft and the historical past of the area. Actually, this mission, efficiently created collectively with the Arab World Institute, will serve to additional develop mutual understanding and cooperation between individuals.
On the opening ceremony of the exhibition, the ballet efficiency “Lazgi – Dance of Soul and Love” by the German choreographer Raimondo Rebeck was offered. The Khorezmian Lazgi dance is greater than 3000 years previous. It’s included on the Consultant Listing of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of UNESCO.
On a ultimate notice
The territory coated by the Silk Highway comprises traces and treasures of an enormous variety of civilizations and ethnic teams representing all kinds of cultures and methods of life. This can be a place of intersection of many commerce routes, alternate between East and West, nomadic and sedentary methods of life, synthesis of cultures of varied civilizations – Iranian, Hellenistic, Turkic, Chinese language, Indian, Arab Muslim, Mongolian, and others.
The exhibitions offered by Uzbekistan in Paris will permit tens of millions of individuals from all around the world to see the artifacts of this nice historical past with their very own eyes.
Specialists consider that these exhibitions might be very efficient, as a result of cooperation in a tradition in a short time acquaints the nation and other people with the world. 60 million vacationers go to France a 12 months. Greater than 10 million individuals go to the Louvre. The truth that Uzbekistan might be represented at such a large-scale exhibition will make the nation extra recognizable, enhance curiosity in it, its tradition and its historical past. This may function a fantastic commercial for the event of tourism. The higher individuals get to know one another via exhibitions, mutual communication, the stronger mutual belief. And belief opens the door to different co-operation areas.
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