For the first ever Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah, a treasure trove of Uzbekistan artifacts have been brought in, giving visitors a chance to marvel mysterious historic valuables.

Currently showcased are 17 ethnography and textiles of the Islamic period—the most outstanding being two legible pages of one of the oldest Uzbek Qurans.

“It’s the first time I would say those pages are shown outside of Uzbekistan,” said executive director of the Art and Culture Development Foundation under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Gayane Umerova. “It was kept in quite bad shape before it was restored—it was really kept not as an object to be shown at art institutions, it was more used as an object of research.

“The Biennale of Islamic Art is an important international event that gives the platform to showcase projects cantered around Islamic culture. Uzbekistan has a rich and complex history, a big part of which is deeply connected to the traditions of Islam… we really tried not to forget about our kind of Islamic heritage because we are a secular state, but we’re very close to the Islamic culture.”

The biennale will be held in the Hajj Terminal at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, and is organised by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation and the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia. All 17 Uzbek objects will be on display until April 23, which is when the event concludes.

Darul Ihsan Media Desk