The Wedding

On a two-humped camel, beneath the gilded canopy of a kajava, rides the bride — she is glimpsed only through a carved little window, like light through a lattice, and this concealment is not by chance: the wedding itself is here an earthly echo of what the Sufis call 'urs', the union of the soul with the Beloved, where the meeting always remains a little withdrawn from the direct gaze. To the left, on a white horse, is the groom in a green kaftan, the colour of the Sufi path and of the Prophet's lineage; a pomegranate is offered to him — not merely a gift, but the blessing of knowledge that passes from hand to hand at the moment when two lives become one. The caravan is led by a driver in a blue robe, and a mounted retinue accompanies the procession on black, white and chestnut steeds. To the right, above a rock, a youth has climbed onto the branches of a plane tree — not out of mere mischief: thus the soul seeks, if only for an instant, to glimpse the face of the hidden one. At the front — a dancer with qairaqs, a doira, a stringed melody and the long exhalation of a wind instrument: not the quiet rhythm of a secluded gathering, but the voice of the whole city sharing in the joy. On the gate tower heralds blow the karnays, and the news of the union of two hearts spreads beyond the walls. Behind rises the recognisable silhouette of Bukhara — a minaret, turquoise domes, the walls of a madrasa in the gold of sunset. Ten months went into painting out every face in this crowd, every leaf of the plane tree, every fold of the kajava. About the work The miniature belongs to the genre of the wedding procession (toy) — one of the most beloved subjects of the Bukhara court school of the 16th–17th centuries, where the festival became an occasion to gather a whole city onto a single leaf, from the nobility on the walls to the musicians by the road. The warm golden palette and the abundance of small scenes are characteristic of masters who saw in the wedding subject a chance to display their art in rendering fabric, ornament and a multitude of faces all at once. In the margins, executed in fine gold drawing, amid wild shrubs soars a simurgh — by legend a herald of blessing and happiness, invisibly accompanying the celebration. The miniature was created by the master Davlat Toshev, whose brush unfailingly seeks in earthly joy a reflection of a higher light. Details Base: Natural handmade Bukhara silk paper (90% silk, 10% cotton) Technique: Tempera, watercolour, natural plant and mineral pigments, gold leaf (23 carat) Unique piece