'The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases' on display at the Louvre in Paris

Visitors to the Louvre museum in Paris are invited on a journey to the grand days of the Great Silk Road.

 'The Splendours of Uzbekistan’s Oases: at the Crossroads of the Caravan Routes'is an exhibition that allows visitors to experience the glorious era when caravans roamed Central Asia, a journey that spans over 1,900 years.

Most of the unique exhibits have left Uzbekistan for the first time. One of the treasures unveiled is a door from Gur-i-Mir, the mausoleum of Amir Timur, known as Tamerlane by Europeans, in the city of Samarkand.

“We managed to collect the best works from museum collections throughout the country, 13 museums are represented here," explained Gayane Umerova, Executive Director of the Art and Culture Development Foundation of the Republic of Uzbekistan. "There are exhibits that went through a very long stage of restoration in Uzbekistan, on which French restorers worked. We have been preparing for this exhibition for four years and 70 exhibits have been restored.”

The jewel in the crown of the exhibition – dubbed the Uzbek Mona Lisa - is the 'Painting of the Ambassadors'. It tells the story of diplomatic exchanges in the oases of the Kingdom of Samarkand, which was located at the crossroads of Central Asia's caravan routes. The ambassadors are seen parading before the King of Samarkand.

Frantz Grenet, Chair of History and Cultures of Pre-Islamic Central Asia at the College de France, explains the painting's significance:

"At the time the painting was executed, probably June 21, 660, the Zoroastrian New Year festival in Samarkand, the great dragon boat festival in China and the summer solstice fell on the same day, the coincidence of all these New Year festivals among various people served for the king