Museum of the History of Calligraphy

About

The museum occupies the Ulugh Beg madrasah, the oldest surviving teaching building in Bukhara, put up in 1417. It is one of three schools Ulugh Beg founded, alongside those in Samarkand and Gijduvan.

The building is an example of early Timurid architecture and forms an ensemble with the Abdulaziz Khan madrasah opposite. Theology, astronomy, philosophy and mathematics were taught here; the inscription above the entrance, stating that the pursuit of knowledge is every person's duty, still survives.

The museum opened in 2013 and is devoted entirely to Bukharan calligraphy. The collection runs to thousands of items: manuscripts, lithographs, printed books and archival documents that show how scripts, styles and the very role of writing changed in the city's culture. Household objects, textiles and applied art connected with the written tradition round out the display.

The fit is a happy one: an exhibition about writing and learning inside a building raised for exactly that purpose.