With great success, the Louvre hosts a unique exhibition “The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: At the Crossroads of Caravan Routes”.
The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and The President of France Emmanuel Macron wuth their spouses visited the Louvre Museum for the opening of the exhibition “The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: At the Crossroads of Caravan Routes”.
During the official visit of President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev to France in autumn 2022, at the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, the two heads of state opened two major exhibitions:”The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: At the Crossroads of Caravan Routes” in the Louvre and “The Road to Samarkand. Wonders of Silk and Gold” at the Institute of the Arab World.
Both exhibitions are devoted to the history and culture of Uzbekistan. The exhibition at the Louvre covers the period of the V—VI centuries BC to the era of the rule of the Temurids, and the Institute of the Arab World presents exhibits of the XIX – mid-XX centuries, as well as paintings of the Turkestan avant-garde from the collection of the state museums of Uzbekistan.
The exhibition “The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: At the Crossroads of Caravan Routes” in the Louvre tells about the history of the Great Silk Road, which passed through the southern part of present-day Uzbekistan. It presents items of monumental and easel art, wall paintings, carved details of palaces, objects of decorative and applied art. More than 160 museum exhibits have been collected, in particular 137 items from 13 museums of the Republic of Uzbekistan, covering the period from the V-VI century BC to the era of Timurid rule, and 31 museum exhibits from the world’s leading museums.
The real gems of the exhibition are a unique handwritten Kattalangar Holy Quran of the VIII century and a charred wooden panel from the Kafir-kala settlement.
The President of France Emmanuel Macron at the exhibition “The splendor of the oases of Uzbekistan. At the intersection of caravan routes.” Photo provided by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation.
A carved charred panel from the settlement of Kafyrkala (VII-VIII centuries AD).
During the excavation of the Kafyr-kala citadel (Samarkand region) a ceremonial and monumental complex was revealed, richly decorated with paintings and wooden details. According to experts, the wooden pano depicts Nana, the goddess of fertility and all living things, the most revered goddess in Sogd, an ancient state that existed on the territory of modern Uzbekistan.
The Kafyr-kala settlement existed from the beginning of the first millennium to the XII century. The panel was found in the center of the city, where there was once a high citadel with an archive. The archive burned down during the invasion of the Arabs in the VIII century. Only about 700 ceramic seals were preserved, which were used to seal documents, and several bags with money. It is assumed that the walls of the citadel were decorated with carved wooden panels – one of them miraculously survived the fire. Probably, during the destruction of the building, the panel was covered with earth and other debris, which created an almost oxygen-free environment, and the panel was charred.
According to the curators of the exhibition, the wooden panel is a unique masterpiece of Sogdian art. A composition of 46 human figures placed in four tiers is carved on the boards on the front side. The main plot of the composition is a mass ritual of worship of a deity. In the center of the two upper tiers is placed a large figure of the goddess Nana, sitting on a throne in the form of a reclining lion.
This is probably the most important exhibit of today’s exhibition, because it has never been exhibited before and was in not very proper conditions when we discovered it. Together with French experts, it was restored in stages for three years. It took about six stages of restoration to bring it up to today’s conditions. On Kafir-kala we see a wide variety of people’s looks, their costumes, hairstyles… I think that after this exhibition, very active research will begin, because we managed to restore the exhibit, but not so much research has been done,” said Gayane Umerova, executive director of the Foundation for the Development of Culture and Art.
The Koran from Katta Langara (VIII century).
The manuscript was written on parchment in one of the oldest types of Arabic writing — Kufi and Hijazi handwriting. The average page size is 53×35 cm. For a long time, the Koran was kept in the Langar-ota mosque of the Karshi district of Kashkadarya region.
The National Library of Uzbekistan was named after Timurid mystic and painter Alisher Navoi. The Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Muslim Board of Uzbekistan were involved in the restoration of the precious documents. The work was carried out by the restorers of the Louvre Museum Axel Delau and Aurelia Streri.
Photo: RIA Novosti
The head of Dakshita (VII century AD).
Dakshita ‘s Head
The head of Dokshit, considered the god of evil, rooted with a skull (VII century AD) is a sculpture made of unbaked clay found during excavations of a Buddhist temple of the VII century in ancient Kuva (Ferghana Valley).
Dakshit is a demonic being, a militant “defender of the law”, “guardian of the faith” of Buddhism. Its appearance in the Buddhist sacred tradition is associated with later times, when “because of the persecution of the Buddhist faith, one had to turn to the formidable warriors of heaven in the hope of spiritual help,” the description says.
Buddha with monks from Fayaztepa (I-II centuries AD).
Buddha with monks from Fayaztepa (I-II centuries AD) was found in 1968 by Uzbek archaeologist Lazar Albaum in the Fayaz Tepe complex in Termez, near the northwestern ruins of old Termez.
The Buddha is sitting under the sacred bodhi tree, whose branches form a halo, with figures of two monks on its sides. The whole composition is included in a keeled arch supported by columns with Corinthian capitals. The Buddha is sitting in a meditative pose, his head slightly tilted forward, his face in calm self-denial. His body is hidden under a sanghati cape. Two standing monks on either side hold their folded palms in worship of the deity. The hands of both monks are broken off.
“Hall of Ambassadors” from the settlement of Afrasiab.
“Hall of Ambassadors” from the settlement of Afrasiab
The “Hall of Ambassadors” from the settlement of Afrasiab (mid—VII – early VIII century AD). In 1965, in the settlement of Afrasiab in Samarkand, archaeologists discovered a palace complex with wall paintings dating back to the pre-Arab period.
The story murals decorated all four walls of a large square hall measuring 11 × 11 m and were preserved at a height of 2.5−2.7 m. The murals presented in the central hall of the Louvre Museum decorated the reception hall in an aristocratic house. This may be the palace of the tsar himself, which was supposed to be located in the north of the settlement at the foot of the citadel. Perhaps this is the residence of the family of King Varhuman, who reigned in the third quarter of the VII century.
The exhibition presents the Southern wall of the painting, which better preserved the brightness of the colors. According to Chinese chronicles, every year on Nowruz (the New Year of the Zoroastrians), the Sogdian rulers led a procession to the mausoleum of their parents, located to the east of the capital (east and south for the Zoroastrians — the direction to paradise), and at the end of the ceremony an animal sacrifice was performed.
The central part of the composition confirms this interpretation. You can see two characters with bandages on their faces — such are still worn by Zoroastrian priests today, so as not to defile the sacred fire with their breath. It depicts not priests (men dressed in secular costumes and armed), but representatives of the nobility, who considered it an honor to accompany sacrificial animals.
As the description says, the saddled horse was used in funeral sacrifices and is probably intended for the sun god and the judge of the dead, Mitra. As for the geese, they may have been intended for Zurvan, whom the Sogdians identified with the god Brahma, the god of infinite time, who had four forms and his symbol was wild geese.
Shokirjon Pidaev, director of the Institute of Art Studies of the Academy of Sciences, called the fresco from Afrasiab “priceless”. According to him, the exhibit was found during the construction of the road.
“The mural has been excavated for six years, because if it is dug up immediately, the colors may disappear due to the interaction with oxygen. Therefore, archaeologists dug out a little bit and immediately applied special chemicals. In addition, it will not be possible to immediately pull out an 11-meter mural, so we had to divide it,” he said.
Bodhisattva (II-III century AD).
Bodhisattva (II-III century AD)
The head of a Devat and the head of a Kushan prince.
The head of a Devat and the head of a Kushan prince.
The Dalverzinsky treasure (I century AD).
The Dalverzinsky treasure (I century AD).
Sculptures of the Kushan Empire period, Buddhist statues, treasures of Dalverzintep, Halchayan and Varakhshi.
Dalverzintepa in the south of Uzbekistan was one of the major cities of Northern Bactria. Archaeological excavations have revealed several historical and cultural layers here: Greco-Bactrian (III-II centuries BC), Yuejian-Kushan or Early Kushan (II-I centuries BC), Velikokushan (the second half of the I-II centuries AD), Late Kushan or Kushan-Sasanian (III-IV centuries.) and the Ephthalite (V century) and Chagankhudat (VI-VII centuries AD) periods.
Khalchayan is an ancient city that existed in the period from the middle of the first millennium BC to the end of the III century AD on the territory of the Denau district of the Surkhandarya region of Uzbekistan. Archaeological excavations were carried out on this territory from 1959 to 1963.
The red Hall of the Varakhsha palace building, VII century AD, was found in the Varakhsha settlement in the Bukhara region in 1953.
Books, miniatures, manuscripts.
Twelve miniatures tell about the history of the era of the Bukhara Emirate. In addition, for the first time, a copy of the book of Marco Polo of the XIV century is being exhibited, which includes stories about Marco Polo’s travels in Asia, made by him at the end of the XIII century. This exhibit is provided by the French National Library.
The scientific curator of the exhibition at the Louvre in Paris, Rocco Rante noted that the exhibition of Uzbekistan is the first exhibition about the history of Central Asia in the Louvre.
“The exhibition “The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: At the Crossroads of Caravan Routes” is unique. For the first time in France and in Europe in general, we are exhibiting such rare exhibits from Uzbekistan. There are more than 130 of them, and some of them were found quite recently. This exhibition is the fruit of great efforts and restoration work, and scientific research. I think it will not be possible to repeat such an exhibition in the next 30 years,” Rocco Rante said.
The exhibition will last until March 6, 2023.
The electronic online publication “Embassy Life” expresses its gratitude to the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the Russian Federation for the information and media files provided.
