Uzbekistan Presents Ancient Artefacts at Global Antiquity Exhibition in Milan
World
Uzbekistan is represented by eight museum objects at Global Antiquity, an exhibition at Fondazione Prada in Milan. Opened on 5 November 2026, the exhibition explores more than 1,600 years of cultural exchange between the Mediterranean and Asia.
The Art and Culture Development Foundation of Uzbekistan (ACDF) has contributed artefacts illustrating Central Asia’s historical role in the circulation of artistic traditions, knowledge and ideas. The show brings together over 150 works and artefacts, covering a period from approximately 600 BCE to 1000 CE.
Global Antiquity is curated by Salvatore Settis, Anna Anguissola and Chiara Ballestrazzi, with an exhibition design by architect Rem Koolhaas and the AMO/OMA studio. The exhibition presents antiquity as a network of connections beyond individual trade routes. The findspots, alongside places of origin, help trace the movement of objects and contacts between societies.
Uzbekistan’s contributions include a clay figure of a prince from Khalchayan, dated to the 1st century BCE–1st century CE, and seven chess pieces from Afrasiab. The prince figure belongs to an early Kushan artistic tradition and reflects a synthesis of Bactrian, nomadic, Achaemenid and Hellenistic influences. Afrasiab, an ancient settlement in present-day Samarkand, was an important centre of Sogdiana. The chess pieces found there point to the region’s cultural connections and the spread of a game that originated in India and travelled west through Persia and Central Asia.
The Uzbek objects are displayed alongside works from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Guimet Museum, the Prado Museum, the Vatican Museums and other institutions. An illustrated catalogue featuring research essays has also been prepared for the exhibition.
ACDF’s participation continues its work to study and promote Uzbekistan’s heritage internationally, following projects such as the 2022 exhibition at the Louvre. Global Antiquity is on view at Fondazione Prada, Milan, until 1 March 2027.
Global Antiquity is curated by Salvatore Settis, Anna Anguissola and Chiara Ballestrazzi, with an exhibition design by architect Rem Koolhaas and the AMO/OMA studio. The exhibition presents antiquity as a network of connections beyond individual trade routes. The findspots, alongside places of origin, help trace the movement of objects and contacts between societies.
Uzbekistan’s contributions include a clay figure of a prince from Khalchayan, dated to the 1st century BCE–1st century CE, and seven chess pieces from Afrasiab. The prince figure belongs to an early Kushan artistic tradition and reflects a synthesis of Bactrian, nomadic, Achaemenid and Hellenistic influences. Afrasiab, an ancient settlement in present-day Samarkand, was an important centre of Sogdiana. The chess pieces found there point to the region’s cultural connections and the spread of a game that originated in India and travelled west through Persia and Central Asia.
The Uzbek objects are displayed alongside works from the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Guimet Museum, the Prado Museum, the Vatican Museums and other institutions. An illustrated catalogue featuring research essays has also been prepared for the exhibition.
ACDF’s participation continues its work to study and promote Uzbekistan’s heritage internationally, following projects such as the 2022 exhibition at the Louvre. Global Antiquity is on view at Fondazione Prada, Milan, until 1 March 2027.
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