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https://doi.org/10.29013/EJA-19-3-78-81
Rakhmatullaeva Asalkhon, Basic doctoral (PhD) The National Institute of Arts and Design named after Kamaliddin Behzad E-mail address: [email protected]
FROM THE HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF MEDIEVAL ORIENTAL MINIATURES (from the Fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan)
Abstract. The article contains some materials about the history and origin of the fund of manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Also, the focus was on the history of the study of Oriental miniatures of the middle ages. The article examined some of the miniatures of the poems of authors Firdowsi, Nizami Ganjavi, Amir Khusraw Dehlevi, Alisher Navoi.
Keywords: manuscript, fund, miniature, book, library, oriental.
The treasure of manuscripts ofthe Institute of Ori- stan" by L. Rempel, albums prepared by M. Ashrafi,
ental Studies named after Abu Rayhon Beruni of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan is one of the most famous treasures in the world where ancient manuscripts are stored in terms of their wealth, the diversity and scientific value of the works stored there.
The scientific activity of the Institute is mainly connected with its manuscript fund. The collection of Oriental manuscripts of the Institute is considered to be one of the richest and most famous repositories of Oriental manuscripts in the world. The oldest works stored in the fund have more than a thousand years of history (for example, a list of the Koran of the IX century, rewritten in Kufi's handwriting), and the latest works are dated to the mid-twentieth century.
In 2000, the manuscript fund of the Institute was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the richest manuscript repositories in the world.
The traditional art criticism studies include albums created with the purpose of promotion among wider audiences. This kind of publications includes "Painting of Iran" by B. Deineka, "Art of the Arab countries" by B. Weimarn, "History of Art of Uzbeki-
K. Kerimov, E. Polyakova and others.
The study of the oriental manuscripts, a great number of which are in the collection of the Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan, plays a key role in the assimilation of our rich cultural heritage.
If we look at the literary works stored in the fund of the IOS AS RU, we can see that a lot of works have been created by poets and writers who lived in the territory of Central Asia, India, the Middle East countries. Abu Ali Ibn Sina, Abulqosim Firdawsi, YusufXos Khodjib Bolosoguni, Mahmud Qashgari, Zamakh-shari, Nizami Ganjavi, Umar Khayyam, Sa'di, Faridud-din Attar, Jalaliddin Rumi, Rabg'uzi, Amir Khusraw Dehlevi, Hofiz Sherazi, Abdurahman Jami, Alisher Navoi, Fuzuli, Mirzo Abdulqodir Bedil and manuscript divans of hundreds of other poets and writers, "Khamsa" and other works are collected in this fund. [2, 18] Nizami Ganjavi, Amir Khusraw Dehlevi and Alisher Navoi are among the great "Khamsa" writers of the East. They left an indelible mark in the history of literature with their "Khamsa". There are several copies of the great poet and thinker Nizami Ganjavi's
"Khamsa" in the fund. One of them was decorated with beautiful miniatures and headpieces.
The miniature of "Laili and Qais at school" from the manuscript (Inv.662) kept at the manuscripts' fund of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Science of Uzbekistan is one of the 27 miniatures illustrated for "Khamsa" by Nizami Ganjavi. It's dated c.a. 1075/1665. A group of pupils with a teacher are having a lesson outdoors. In the foreground with an intricate turn of his head Qais is fixing his eyes on Laili sitting to his left. The colouring of the picture is based on a combination of orange, yellow-ochre, blue and dark green [3, 236].
The fair Laili, when she was only seven years old, already struck with her appearance those who surrounded her. At the age of ten when she is sent by her father to school, the fame of her beauty like a legend is told from mouth to mouth. All the three miniatures of the copy are remarkable by extremely expressive interpretation of the hilly background in comparison with more static figures of characters [1, 110].
After Nizami Ganjavi, the great poet and thinker, who created "Khamsa" was Amir Khusraw Dehlevi. He was the author of a number ofworks on literature and history. According to the prominent scientist of tazkira writer of his time, Davlatshakh Samarkan-di, well-known Indian historian Muhammad Kasim Hindushakh and a number of other authors, Amir Khusraw Dehlevi created a number of such works as "Khamsa" five Divan, "Qiron as-Sa'dayn", "Duval-roniy and Khizrkhon", "Noah sipehr", "Manoqibi Kh-ind", "Tarihi Dehli", "Anis al-qulub", "Taj al-futukh", "Afzal al-fawayid", "E'jozi Khusrawi", "Tuglukname", "Hazoyin al-futuh", "Bahjat al-asror", "Mir'ot as-safa", "Bahr as-asror", "Miftoh al-futuh", "Javahir al-bahar", "Taronai Hind".
In the fund of manuscripts of IOS the handwritten copies of works by Amir Khusraw Dehlevi "Khamsa" which includes "Matla' al-anwar", "Shirin and Khusraw", "Majnun and Layli", "Oyinayi Iskan-dari", "Hasht behisht", "Tuhfat as-sighar", "Vasat al-khayat", "G'urrat al-kamol", "Baqiyayi naqiya",
"Nikhoyat al-kamol" included collection of poems -Divan, "Qiron as-sa'dayn", "Noah sipehr", "Duval-roniy and Khizrkhon", "Miftoh Al-Futuh" are kept. The Divans by Amir Khusraw Dehlevi kept here have been copied for over 700 years by various calligra-phers in India, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Because of this, their size, the number of ghazals, ode, and rubais included in them also varies. The fund has such wonderful copies of Amir Khusraw Dehlevi's works, one of which was copied in the XIVth century and the other was written by the famous lyric poet Hafiz Sherozi [2, 26].
...The miniatures in the copy Inv. 3317 "Khamsa" by Amir Khusraw Dehlevi could be related to the Shiraz school (often called the Djelairid school) and dated back to the 1480 s. This manuscript has a dramatic story. Though the text was fully copied, the decoration was not completed. Some front folios and chapter titles as well as some oblong margins intended for miniatures were left blank by the cal-ligrapher and artist. Only an extraordinary situation could have interrupted the work on the decoration of the manuscript, and most likely this was the seizure of Shiraz by Amir Temur in 1387. The copy of "Khamsa" along with other manuscripts may have been carried to Samarkand in a bag. Centuries later the manuscript under mysterious circumstances was thrown into a well, from where it was retrieved after the war and transported to the Institute of Oriental Studies (at that time the Institute for the Research of Oriental Manuscripts) of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan.
The illustrations of "Khamsa" closely resemble the miniatures of the Shiraz school in "Shah-name" (772H/1370-1371), copied in Shiraz (the Library of Topkapu-Saray in Istambul); "Shah-name" (796H/1393-1394, the National Library, Cairo); "Kalila wa Dimna" (the end of the XIVth c., the National Library, Paris). All of them have identical interpretation of faces, clothes, headdresses, few characters, laconic landscapes, a refinement of lines and clarity of colour composition. One of the miniatures
(f. 235v) contains the inscription: "Musalli", that is "comforting", "entertaining". It is presumed to be pen-name (lacab) of the artist - the creator of the miniature [3, 14].
...Another of the rare works kept in the fund is a copy of "Khamsa" of Amir Khusraw Dehlevi was copied by the famous lyric poet Hofiz Sherozi. It is unknown that any other work written in the pen of Hafiz exists in world treasures. It is the oldest and most ancient of the copies of this work stored in the treasures of the world's manuscripts. Three of five poems of "Khamsa" ("Khusraw and Shirin", "Oyinai Iskandari", "Hasht Behisht") belong to Hafiz. This copy was also decorated with magnificent headpieces. There are also wonderful copies of the divans of Amir Khusraw Dehlevi in the treasure of the manuscripts of Institute.
It is well known that manuscripts of Alisher Navoi, as well as other works of scholars and poets, have been copied by many calligraphers in Central Asia, the Middle East for more than five centuries. The divans of Alisher Navoi "Khamsa", "Nawadir al-nihaya", "Gara'ib al-sigar", "Navodir ash-shabob", "Bado'i al-vasat" and "Favo'id al-kibor" are included in "Hazayin al-maaniy", "Makhbub ul-qulub", "Li-son at-ta'ir", "Majolis an-nafois", "Tarikhi muluki Ajam, "Meson al-avzon", "Mukhokamat al-lugatayn", "Tarikhi anbiyo and hukamo", "Nasayim al-muhab-bat", "Nazm al-javahir", "Khamsat al-mutahayyirin", "Munshaot" and manuscript copies of other works are preserved [2, 29].
Among them are manuscripts copied by famous calligraphers in Herat during Alisher Navoi's life... When it comes to great copies of the works of Navoi, it is worth mentioning that one manuscript copy of the famous "Khamsa" works. In the treasury of the Institute there are several copies of manuscripts of "Khamsa" by Navoi copied in different cities. Among them there is also a copy copied with the letter of Nasta'liq by the famous calligrapher Abduljamil secretary from Kherat, who served in the presence of the poet. It is one of the oldest and most famous
copies of Navoi's "Khamsa", which is found in the treasures of the world. The first poem "Hayrat ul-abror" was copied in 889 rabi' al-oxir/1484, in April, the second poem "Layli and Majnun" was copied in zulqa'da/1484 in November, the other poems - "Far-hod and Shirin", "Sab'ai sayora", "Saddi Iskandari" were copied in 889/1484, in the presence of Navoi. The artistic headpieces were illustrated at the beginning of each poem [2, 36].
.For the Central Asian miniature expressive manly austerity of the design, deep and clear colouring, simplified compositions, laconic and monumental landscape, some genre interpretation of subjects without superfluous detailing was traditional. Though Central Asian miniatures are marked by originality of the style of creation they are represented by various individual creative manners. Some of them have a tendency to elegant decorativeness of classic trend, the others - in different degrees to original manner which combined restraint pathetic of heroic and dramatic subjects, unsophisticated narration, broad depicting of morals and customs and measured course of life. From XVIII-XIXth centuries the Central Asian miniatures as well as the Middle Eastern one starts to change: its subjects and appearance of the heroes become more democratic, the structure of the composition changes together with interpretation of the background and the landscape, art accents change their places. These factors all together change characteristic features and principles of Middle Eastern miniature painting which regenerates into a new kind of illustration [1, 16-17].
Miniature painting of the East of the middle ages has a deep history. Many art critics, historians, researchers and scientists have studied and published many publications, monographs and album-catalogs. The article presents an analysis of only a few publications. Manuscripts and miniatures in the fund of the manuscripts of the Institute of Oriental Studies are generally reflected in books, scientific articles, catalogs and monographs. The existing literature contains general information about the miniatures,
their creation period, size, technique, material, the name of the calligrapher, the name of the miniature artist, the place and period of the miniature, and the general description of the miniatures. But plots and images depicted in miniatures of medieval poets and
writers have not been interpreted separately. Art critics, historians, researchers and scientists have a huge task to study the subjects and images of miniatures to the poems of medieval poets of the East, analyzing and comparing them.
References:
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