NEW! Gallery Visit - Arts and Crafts of Central Asia

Central Asia, at the heart of the ancient Silk Roads, was always a meeting place of peoples and ideas. This gallery talk introduces some of the arts, crafts and peoples of the region. The Oxus treasure is a collection of fine gold and silver jewellery, small figurines, votive plaques, vessels and other objects discovered in the 19C on the north bank of the Oxus, one of the great rivers of Central Asia. The treasure dates from the 6C-4C BC, the Achaemenid Persian period, and some of the items resemble gifts offered to the Persian king by peoples of his empire as depicted on reliefs from Persepolis. From Central Asia we see the Sogdians, wealthy merchants of Samarkand, and the semi-nomadic Parthians, renowned for their skills in horse-riding and archery.

Art, architecture and scientific inquiry flourished under Islam, which arrived in Central Asia in the 8C. On display are 10C Samanid bowls inscribed with wise sayings, perhaps ‘conversation pieces’, and polychrome tiles from the 14C-15C Timurid period (dynasty of Tamerlaine) which show cuerda seca, mosaic and lajvardina techniques. Beautiful brass vessels inlaid with gold and silver were made in Herat, which was also an important centre of illustrated manuscript production under the Timurids. Chinese influence is apparent in a jade cup with dragon handle, inscribed with the name of Ulug Beg, Tamerlaine’s grandson, an astronomer-scientist who built a great observatory in Samarkand. A celestial globe of the period identifies stars and constellations with inlaid silver points and inscriptions.

In the 19C and 20C Bukhara and Samarkand were centres of textile production. On display are examples of ikat-dyed and embroidered fabrics. We also look at the heavy gold-plated jewellery of the Teke and Yomut Turkmen tribes, inset with carnelian, which represented a woman’s portable wealth and status. 

Sue's tour to Uzbekistan will depart on 24 May 2025, but there is still time to book on to her 2024 tour departing 25 May 2024.  Please call or email to enquire.