Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $9.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Central Asian Art
    Central Asian Art
    Central Asian Art
    Ebook298 pages1 hour

    Central Asian Art

    By Vladimir Lukonin and Anatoly Ivanov

    4.5/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    The strict prohibition on the representation of the human form has channeled artistic creation into architecture and architectural decoration. This book is a magical tour through Central Asia - Khirgizia, Tadjikistan, Turkmenia, and Uzbekistan - a cradle of Ancient civilisations and are pository of the Oriental arts inspired by Buddhism and Islam. There are magnificent, full-colour photographs of the abandoned cities of Mervand Urgench, Khiva, the capital of the Kharezm, with its mausoleum of Sheikh Seid Allahuddin,and, the Golden Road to Samarkand, the Blue City, a center of civilisation for 2,500 years.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherParkstone International
    Release dateSep 15, 2015
    ISBN9781783107971
    Central Asian Art

    Read more from Vladimir Lukonin

    Related to Central Asian Art

    Related ebooks

    Art For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Rose And The Nightingale

      Apr 1, 2021

      The Rose And The Nightingale
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Contemporary Asian Practice

      Feb 4, 2018

      A Contemporary Asian Practice
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Dawn Of Globalisation

      Aug 6, 2020

      The Dawn Of Globalisation
      2 min read

    • Article

      Ukraine’s Lost capital

      Aug 12, 2023

      Ukraine’s Lost capital
      10 min read

    • Article

      Off The Grid

      Jun 13, 2019

      Off The Grid
      2 min read

    • Article

      Uzbekistan 50 Shades of Blue

      Mar 8, 2024

      Uzbekistan 50 Shades of Blue
      11 min read

    • Article

      Beçin, Turkey

      Feb 13, 2024

      Beçin, Turkey
      2 min read

    • Article

      Theme The Middle Kingdom

      Oct 19, 2021

      Theme The Middle Kingdom
      6 min read

    • Article

      Charged Wonders

      Jan 19, 2024

      Charged Wonders
      14 min read

    • Article

      Gaul’s University town

      Oct 5, 2021

      Gaul’s University town
      7 min read

    • Article

      Ancient Greeks

      Sep 21, 2023

      Ancient Greeks
      5 min read

    • Article

      Silk Road Rising

      Oct 15, 2019

      Silk Road Rising
      10 min read

    • Article

      Child’s Coat

      Dec 2, 2021

      Child’s Coat
      1 min read

    • Article

      Step Change

      Dec 12, 2019

      Step Change
      8 min read

    • Article

      Michael Wood On…

      Nov 23, 2023

      Michael Wood On…
      3 min read

    • Article

      To Rule And Be Ruled

      Oct 8, 2022

      To Rule And Be Ruled
      1 min read

    • Article

      A Silk Road Renaissance

      Jun 11, 2020

      A Silk Road Renaissance
      11 min read

    • Article

      The new Ottomans

      Apr 25, 2024

      The new Ottomans
      11 min read

    • Article

      Still Inspiring Freedom

      Jul 12, 2022

      Still Inspiring Freedom
      2 min read

    • Article

      Key Events

      Oct 5, 2023

      Key Events
      3 min read

    • Article

      10 Forgotten African Empires

      Dec 31, 2020

      10 Forgotten African Empires
      8 min read

    • Article

      Secret Rites Of Samothrace

      Aug 10, 2021

      Secret Rites Of Samothrace
      12 min read

    • Article

      Russia Romanov Tercentenary

      Oct 16, 2020

      Russia Romanov Tercentenary
      4 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Central Asian Art

    4.5/5

    4 ratings2 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      Brilliant art study of the Central Asia republics. Their art, architecture and contributions to the world have been under appreciated.
    • 5/5
      its a great book that make me travel to Kyrgistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Fabulous!

    Book preview

    Central Asian Art - Vladimir Lukonin

    Uzbekistan.

    A Brief Glance at History

    Central Asia, ancient territory where nature offers contrasts different from any other area of the world, traditionally regroups four republics of the community of Independent States: Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, extending from the Caspian Sea to the Chinese border. Broad deserts and flourishing orchards and vineyards, snow-covered mountains and green valleys, old abandoned cities, traditional villages and modern towns proud of their past – often several thousand years old, and with famous monuments – may be found here. Centre of successive civilisations and multiple cultures, this vast area claims an exceptional architectural, artistic, and handicraft heritage.

    Ever since the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age, Central Asia has rivalled with classical Eastern Asia (which extended from Mesopotamia to India) in the abilities and skills of its peoples. In the 6th century BCE it was largely conquered by the powerful Achaemenian Dynasty and in the 4th century BCE by Alexander the Great’s army which gave it considerable artistic impetus. The period between the 3rd century BCE and the 3rd century CE marked the area with the appearance of powerful Kingdoms: the Parthians of the Arsacid dynasty (south of Turkmenistan, in Persia, and in part of Mesopotamia), the Greco-Bactrians, the Kushans (which included Bactria and the territory beyond Amu-Daria as far as the Indus and the Ganges), the Kangas (that united the Kharezm, the Sogdian, and the northern territories) whose social and cultural development founded an entirely new cultural impulse throughout the territory they controlled.

    If the development of the arts in Central Asia was closely linked with their neighbours, this period was nevertheless marked by a conjunction of influences, Hellenistic, Indo-Buddhist, and South Persian, whereas in the North-East, the central territories, the Sakas, and the Scythians, left the imprint of their own traditions. But the local artists didn’t satisfy themselves with copying shapes and designs alien to them, but modified, according to their sensibility, the forms and the content of foreign cultures. They worked with their own ancestral techniques and according to their aesthetic sense and ideology, thus giving birth to a new art profoundly original at the threshold of the 4th century BCE.

    The Ark, fortress walls.

    Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

    The fall of the ancient empires of Central Asia and the invasions of the 4th and 5th centuries by wandering tribes from the North predetermined the establishment of a new social order, an intensive feudal system, and the constitution of a great number of semi-independent principalities. It was a period of domination by rich landowners who lived in innumerable fortresses scattered in the plains and mountains. One of the most remarkable characteristics of this renewed social system was the formation of a particular type of medieval culture in the towns, then few in number, and the development of many crafts in different artistic areas.

    The political dismemberment encouraged the conquest of the region by the Arabs and its submission to the caliphate power from the 7th century. It was at this time that all the countries between the Amu Darya and Zhetysu (previously known as Semirechyez, the Seven Rivers region) was named Mavera-un-Nahr. The south of today’s Turkmenistan became a part of the Khorasan region. From this time, only Khwarezm retained its former name.

    A part of the patrimony, including mural paintings, sculptures, and representative figures opposed to the Arab laws about ornament, was destroyed during that period, but at the same time, many aspects of artistic life were influenced by Muslim culture.

    During the 10th through 12th centuries, art was once again faced with many sudden changes. Ancient traditions were abandoned, the development of monumental paintings and sculptures ceased, and the ornamental, decorative style common to all Islamic countries in architecture and the applied arts became the main source of creation. On political grounds, the local noblemen, even if they were nominally subjects of the caliphate, began to conduct their states with total independence from the 9th and 10th centuries.

    At last, at the beginning of the 11th century, following the numerous Turkmen invasions, the Turkmen dynasties established themselves in this region. This period favoured the development of urban culture and the growth of towns, among which Merv – today abandoned – Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara remained representative of the essential spirit.

    Around 1150, the architecture of Central Asia was monochrome, but in the middle of the 12th century blue brick began to be used and considerable progress was made in the art of building and decorative ornamentation. But the Turco-Mongol invasions at the beginning of the following century put a stop to all artistic development for almost a hundred years.

    Tilya-Kori Madrasah.

    Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

    The Ark, fortress.

    Bukhara, Uzbekistan.

    Gur-e Amir Mausoleum.

    Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

    It was only at the end of a slow revival that a renewal began to appear in the 15th century, under the reign of Tamerlane and the Timurids, today considered the most sumptuous of the artistic patrimony of Central Asia. The edifices from that time are characterised by their decorative aspects and the richness of colour of the glazed ornaments.

    The palette of the ceramic surfaces became more and more varied, with a predominance for turquoise blue. Under Timur, in the 1470’s, Samarkand experienced a great development in architecture, which is a testimony to the power of the self-named Emir, or commander.

    The edifices of this time are remarkable for their monumental conception intended to strike people’s eyes and hearts. The variety of decorative techniques, glazed bricks, majolica tiles, and sculptured baked clay are proof of a great artistic mastery. With similar ideas concerning the edifices meant for worship, buildings for different purposes were also erected for the comfort of the population: takis and tims or copula galleries for trading caravanserai; public baths, bridges, and sardobas or water-cisterns. The latter were of more modest proportions and surfaces.

    These traditions continued for two centuries, under the Uzbeks of the Cheibanid Khanate and the Ashtarkhanid dynasties. But the weakening of the economic and political links outside Central Asia, victim of feudal internal wars, led to a great social crisis at the end of the 18th century.

    The effect was deeply felt on cultural activities in every region except in khanate of Khiva where the economic and political conditions remained favourable. It was only during the following century under the Emirate of Bukhara, the khanates of Khiva and of Kokand that culture knew its new Golden Age. It was at the same time, as these two khanates were integrated to the Russian Empire, that the territories of Central Asia took the names of Turkestan and Transcaspian Province.

    Following Central Asia’s historic destiny, its creative activities knew another sumptuous rise which was followed by a decline.

    Sher-Dor Madrasah, 1619-1639.

    Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

    Reconstructed yurt for the 1000th

    anniversary of Manas, a poem about

    a mythical national hero of the Kyrgyz.

    However, despite the period, it was through architecture, craftsmanship and illuminated design of manuscripts that the Uzbek, Turkman, Tajik, and Kyrgyz artists gave the best of themselves. After the October Revolution, Central Asia was integrated into the autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of Turkestan, which was later, conforming to the principle of national Leninist politics, was divided into four Independent Soviet Republics, until the dismemberment of the empires and their integration in the

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1