On 5 January the next lecture within the IIIT lectures series for CIS countries took place. The lecture "Islamic Art of Central Asia: Questions of Atribution and Dating of The H.A. Yassavi Property" was given by Tetyana Krupa (Kazakhstan, Ukraine), historian, archaeologist, restorer, head of the International Laboratory of Conservation of Restoration of Cultural Heritage "Umai" of the Institute of Archaeological Research of the NPO “Pavlodar Pedagogical University named after Әlkey Margulan”.
During the lecture Tetyana Krupa shared her research of a unique artefact, namely a long study of the old cover of the famous medieval philosopher Khoja Ahmed Yassawi, whom she met in 2009 during her first visit to the reserve-museum "Azret-Sultan" in the city of Turkestan (Kazakhstan). The listeners could see photos of the mausoleum and learn interesting moments from the expedition
The cover itself is a textile cloth with textile applique and gold sewing. The main background of the veil is made of velvet, and the appliqué is made of silk.
Tetyana Krupa spoke about the peculiarities of the research of the cover, primary research of the samples of gold threads used to embroider the cover, showed photos of the samples, which allowed her to preliminarily establish the date of its creation: the period of construction of the mausoleum during the reign of Emir Timur at the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th centuries.
The lecture was attended by more than 30 listeners, among them experts from restoration, cultural studies, teaching, postgraduate students, as well as those interested in Islamic art from different countries - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Turkey.
In the second half of the lecture, participants asked many questions about the textile centres of silk making, the presence of elements of other religions on the cover as an example of interfaith dialogue, as well as research techniques, modern equipment that help to establish the period of ornaments. Participants also shared their own research experience and thanked for valuable knowledge and the opportunity for open dialogue.
The recording of the lecture will soon be published on the Institute for Knowledge Integration's YouTube channel.
