The Russian National Library hosted the exhibition "Works by Alisher Navoi in Manuscripts of the 15th - 19th Centuries" within the framework of the Second International Congress "The Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan - a Path to Dialogue between Peoples and Countries".
The Russian National Library has 25 manuscripts containing the works of Alisher Navoi (1441-1501). These include Kulliyats (essay collections), Diwans (lyrical poetry collections) and Khamsa (The Five), as well as small collections and handwritten copies of individual works such as Majalis al-Nafais (The Gathering of the Chosen Ones), Vaqfiya (The Testament), Chikhil Hadith (40 Hadiths), and others. In addition, there are Turkish and Persian dictionaries for Navoi’s works and a translation into Turkish of the histories of Iranian kings. The most significant from the point of view of the text are three lifetime copies, two of which, together with 11 manuscripts of the 16th century, are of considerable interest for the history of book art. They are characterized by graceful calligraphy, miniatures, decorative design (frontispieces, headpieces, unvans, margins), and artistic bindings. The majority of the handwritten books dating back to the 19th century are good copies, designed for an educated reader, but among them still there are interesting examples of ornamental decoration.
