Exhibition at the Arab World Institute, "On the roads to Samarkand, wonders of silk and gold

A beautiful tribute to Uzbek art and culture... TheArab World Institute invites you to discover its latest exhibition, On the Roads of Samarkand, Wonders of Silk and Gold, from November 23, 2022 to June 4, 2023. An exhibition conceived in collaboration with the Foundation for the Development of Art and Culture of the Republic of Uzbekistan, presenting the"ancestral skills of Uzbekistan from the late 19th to the early 20th century".

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A total of 300 pieces are presented to visitors - including a series of works exhibited for the first time outside national museums - ranging from sumptuous chapans (a kind of cloak) to gold embroidered accessories of the court of the emir, through wooden saddles, silver horse harnesses, suzanis (large pieces of embroidered fabric), carpets, silk ikats, jewelry and other costumes of the nomadic culture. Also on display are some twenty"avant-garde orientalist paintings".

A textile presented here, which"distinguishes","gratifies" and"prints a strong image in society", in the image of the powers of the Islamic world of the time. Rare pieces, but especially unique, magnifying"the revival of the splendor of crafts in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, constitutive of the Uzbek identity," all embroidered with gold or ornate, testifying to"the social and symbolic importance of the pomp of the court.

An art of embroidery that finds its symbolic expression in the intimacy of the family setting, through the "suzanis", embroidered silk fabrics adorning both sedentary and nomadic interiors. These pieces were originally designed for the dowries of the daughters of the family, and bear witness to the tastes and creativity of the embroiderers, but above all to the aesthetic codes specific to each region. And an exhibition that it would be stupid to miss... Shall we book a ticket, friends?