Most of these items are rare and colorful Uzbek and Kyrgyz costumes and accessories, purchased in Turkestan during 1869–70. This period marked the beginning of the region's conquest by the Russian Empire, a time when the fundamental characteristics of local attire were still unaltered. Adamoli himself wore such attire, as evidenced by a photograph published in his memoirs, which have become a valuable yet little-known source on the region's customs.
In his memoirs, Adamoli wrote about spending many months traveling between Tashkent and Samarkand as a guest of diplomatic missions, journeying through the region. He maintained relationships with many local figures, even meeting the artist Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, who later became a renowned expert on the East.
During a trip to then-autonomous Kokand, Adamoli wrote that on the occasion of his presentation at the court of the Kokand ruler Khudayar Khan, he received gifts: “Immediately after the Mektar, he presented me with gifts from the Khan; zimarre made of adras in various colors, woven with golden threads.” Today, these gifts are part of the Stibbert Museum collection.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "The Cultural legacy of Uzbekistan in Italian Collections" (volume XXXII) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The general sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.