Its collections represent about 150,000 exhibits including highly artistic works including household items, highly artistic works of decorative and applied arts and an exceptional set of photographs.
The Orient Department has outstanding international reputation thanks to those objects from the East of the Islamic world including Central Asia. These objects have become widely known for exhibitions and publications. So, the exhibition “Heirs of the Silk Road. Uzbekistan” was held in 1995 in Stuttgart. This was the first international exhibition for which a newly independent State provided exhibits for temporary use.
In the 1990s J. Kalter managed to significantly expand the collection of book art. This was very important, taking into account the wide cultural, historical, collection and exhibition potential of the book as an art object. During the acquisition of one big collection, mostly of Persian origin, Kalter consulted with prof. Annemarie Schimmel. She became a friend of the Linden-Museum and bequeathed to it her entire collection of calligraphy, which was passed into the possession of the Museum in 2003. The collection includes different objects from the early Quran sheets on parchment to the calligraphy of the late 20th century. One of the pearls of the collection is a sheet from the Divan of Sultan Husayn Bayqara.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album "Collections of the Federal Republic of Germany" (volume XI) in the series "Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan in the World Collections".
The main sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.