STATE MUSEUM

The State Museum of Cultural History of Uzbekistan in Samarkand offers a comprehensive overview of the region’s historical development. Established between 1892 and 1896, it is one of the country’s oldest cultural institutions. Since 2014, it has been located in a modern facility on Mirzo Ulugbek Street, designed to better preserve and present its extensive collections.

The museum exhibits a wide range of archaeological, ethnographic, and artistic materials. Among its highlights are Bronze Age artifacts, Zoroastrian ossuaries, medieval ceramics, glassware, metalwork, and examples of ganch carving. A key piece is the Chilek bowl, a 6th-century silver vessel linked to the Hephthalite period.

Its numismatic collection includes over 30,000 coins from Central Asian kingdoms, as well as Greek and Roman issues. The ethnographic section contains around 20,000 objects, including clothing, textiles, tools, and household items. One notable item is a 19th-century globe made by Khodja Yusuf Mirfayazov.

The museum also houses an important selection of early 20th-century Uzbek paintings and rare historical footage, such as the 1941 film “Opening the Tomb of Tamerlane” by M. Kayumov. Through these materials, the museum supports research and education on the cultural evolution of Uzbekistan.

In this context, the Italian-Uzbek archaeological mission and the Kalam Project considered it essential to present a series of panels illustrating over twenty years of historical and archaeological work conducted in the area of Samarkand, particularly at the site of Kafir Kala. This initiative aims to share the results of ongoing research and to highlight the significance of international collaboration in the study and preservation of cultural heritage. Kafir Kala, a key fortified settlement along the ancient Silk Roads, offers crucial evidence for understanding regional networks of trade, politics, and religion. Promoting awareness of such heritage is a way to strengthen connections between past and present and to encourage broader dissemination of knowledge within the local and international communities.