Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia
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Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia

The album with Central Asian paintings now in the collection of the British Museum also used to belong to the British Library; it contains several portraits of Uzbek rulers, like ‘Abdullah Khan and illustrations produced by Central Asian artists, like Muḥammad Nadir al-Samarqandi.

The following selection of works represents the strong legacy of Central Asian visual culture within this world-renowned collection of arts of the book from the Islamic world. The British Museum possesses the whole series of album portraits which depict Uzbek rulers. Can you imagine that these paintings are probably “historical” images taken during their lifetime! 

Amongst them are included live and imaginary representations of Amir Timur (1336 – 1405), Emperor Babur (1483 – 1530), ‘Allah Khan Uzbek (1533/1534 – 1598) and others, all produced in India. 

You can learn more about the topic in the book-album “The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the Collections of Great Britain” (Volume XLVI) in the series "Сultural legacy of Uzbekistan in the world collections".

The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.

Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia
Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia
Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia
Collection of portraits of the rulers of Central Asia