The art of Uzbek miniature

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In Islam, external comparison of Allah with a person and any earthly being is not allowed. “The eyes cannot comprehend him, but he can comprehend the eyes" - so it said in the Quran, but at the same time, the Quran does not prohibit describing animals and people, but such images should not become objects of worship and placed in blessed places.

The exception is thin and graceful miniatures, which were created for interior items and book decoration. Artistic miniature is a special sort of fine art. Initially, this type of decoration was made by order of the upper class and was considered an integral part of handwritten books, valuable manuscripts and archives. To create it, great skill and professionalism of the artist was required, the thinner and brighter the drawing was made, the higher the miniature was evaluated and was measured an indicator of the author's high professionalism.

Also, miniatures were part of the interior. Small, colorful paintings were used to decorate luxury items in the homes of wealthy merchants and in the palaces of the eastern Khans. Miniatures could describe historical chronicles, scenes of hunting and battles, details of meetings and meals. The process of creating miniatures is very complicated and time-consuming, it requires perseverance, great patience, a steady hand and keen eyesight, as well as the author's boundless imagination. The drawing is applied with a specially brush made of natural materials.

One of the most famous miniature painters is Kamoliddin Bekhzod (1450-1535). His works are recognized for the highest skill of depicting miniatures of the Herat school and all of the Central Asia.

Today, miniature painting is presented as an independent type of Uzbek fine art. The Memorial Park-Museum named after Kamoliddin Bekhzod operates in Tashkent. More than 500 valuable exhibits are widely presented in the museum, which include the works of Kamoliddin Bekhzod, his students and followers, old handwritten books, various written documents, miniature paintings on canvas, leather, paper, jewelry boxes.

In addition, the State Museum of Timurid History has a large collection of miniature paintings. Also, on the pages of selected oriental lyrics you can see magnificent illustrations of miniatures.

An Uzbek miniature can be a great gift that you want to look at, explore over and over again!