On June 6, the Library of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera, St. Petersburg) will host an author's lecture-presentation "Silk and Gold of Bukhara: embassy gifts of the Emirs of Bukhara in the collection of the Kunskamera" within the framework of the Second International Congress "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan – a path to dialogue between peoples and countries".
The lecture will be delivered by the leading researcher of the museum, Candidate of Historical Sciences Elena Tsareva.
By the will of historical destinies the heir of the first Russian state museum, the famous Petrovsky Kunstkamera, turned out to be the keeper of the richest collection of Central Asian fabrics, a collection directly related to the history of political and diplomatic relations between Central Asia and Russia. In terms of its volume and significance, this collection is one of the most important not only in Russia, but also in the world.
The collection contains samples of textiles, complexes of festive and everyday clothes and jewelry. The most important part of the collection is ceremonial offerings to the Russian tsars from the Bukhara emirs and Khiva khans: only the famous collection of velvet and silk ikats contains over half a thousand samples. These collections represent invaluable material for the comparative study of traditional costume and the art of weaving in Central Asia and are now open to specialists from all over the world.
Often entire cities of the East specialized in the production of fabrics of certain varieties and colors, and the cities that flourished on the territory of modern Uzbekistan occupy a special place in this series. Velvets, silk, semi-silk, the finest linen and cotton fabrics carry whimsical ornaments, the history of which goes back centuries. Fabrics are able to tell about the great migrations of peoples, their communication, philosophy, traditions, aesthetic ideals. They carry signs and symbols of millennial wisdom. Elena Tsareva will tell the visitors of the museum amazing stories about "talking fabrics", ornaments, composition and colors of which brought to us the depth of ancient wisdom, the ardor of feelings and the sophistication of cultural tradition.
As part of the presentation, the project "Dance and Silk", implemented in augmented reality technology by the St. Petersburg company "EmotionTales", will also be presented."
Currently, within the framework of long-term partnerships under the project "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan", the staff of the MAE RAS is preparing three monograph albums dedicated to the Uzbek legacy in Russia and abroad, the participation of the Uzbek side in the re-exhibition of the museum and the creation of a documentary film related to the history of the oldest manuscripts of the Koran are also being discussed.
