By Vestnik Kavkaza
The Pushkin Museum presents an exhibition of works of classical Islamic art of the 9th-19th centuries from the Marjani Foundation. This is the first demonstration of the collection of hundreds of works. Especially for the exhibition 99 masterpieces of world importance have been selected, according to the number of beautiful names of God. On February 20 at the Pushkin Museum a unique exhibition devoted to the art of classical Islam of the 9th - 19th centuries was opened. Unfortunately, for multinational Moscow exhibitions of this kind are extremely rare, although it is no secret that, living in a multicultural society, we know little about each other. The exhibits for the exhibition were provided by the Marjani Charitable Foundation; the collection contains hundreds of pieces. Especially for the exhibition 99 masterpieces of world importance have been selected - according to the names of God which Muslims mention in prayer.
“Unfortunately, in our museum collections, there is no significant section of Islamic culture,” Irina Antonova, director of the Pushkin Museum, says. “Although our museum, the Pushkin Museum is a museum of world culture, there are significant sections that we have practically not presented, including, unfortunately, the art of Islam, Islamic culture, huge and important for understanding the world in which we live, a large section of culture and art. African art is also virtually not represented. We hope that this exhibition will enrich the knowledge of our many viewers and will be a very important contribution to the scientific and educational activities of our museum. I watched the exhibition carefully. I must say that I am very impressed by what I saw, because the exhibits presented here open up a world of culture, art, of a very high aesthetic sense and aesthetic value in itself. Ornaments, forms of vessels, miniatures, manuscripts, fonts demonstrate high art, and we can only regret that our museum does not exhibit them permanently.”
“Islam is closely intertwined with the fate of Russia,” Rustam Suleymanov, president of the Marjani Foundation, states. “This was not well-known, but if we remember our history - the Khanates in the territory of Russia, if we think of Central Asia, which was part of the territory of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, we now have the deepest connection with them, the history of the Caucasus, then, of course, we will understand that both Islam in general and Islamic culture are part of Russia and the Russian land. We can complain that we do not know it very well, but we prefer to act. This exhibition is just one of those implemented actions on our part. I hope that the project will be evaluated and will please everyone. It is believed that, like the names of the Creator, works of Islamic art reflect true beauty, the contemplation of which brings a person closer to God, but even if you are far from high matters, do not miss the opportunity to see these unique pieces of art, many of which are exhibited for the first time.”
The exhibition is divided into three sections, corresponding to the main historical periods: from the birth of Islam to the Mongol invasions, the Mongol period and the post-Mongol period. The exhibition also presented miniatures for "Iskander-name" written by one of the greatest poets of the Middle Ages Nizami Ganjavi considered by both Iran and Azerbaijan to be their own poet. His influence on world culture can hardly be overestimated - it is simply enormous. Echoes of his work can be heard even now - in the modern cultures of Turkey, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and, of course, Azerbaijan.
