Amongst these holdings, which include illustrated manuscripts, albums, calligraphies, drawings, paintings and book covers from Iran, India, Ottoman Turkey and the Arab world, are also key works produced in Central Asia or reflecting a connection to the visual legacies of this region, especially when it was under the control of the Timurid dynasty in the 15th century.
The collection’s origins date to the Museum’s founding in 1753, after British physician Sir Hans Sloane (1660 – 1753) bequeathed his private collection of over 70 000 works to the nation through an Act of Parliament establishing a free public museum to house it. The act of presenting this gift was carried out based on a parliamentary act establishing a free public museum for its display.
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.
