A unique bowl that belonged to Mirzo Ulugh Beg is housed in the British Museum.

A rare bowl belonging to the great scholar and statesman Mirzo Ulugh Beg is housed in the British Museum.

This bowl, crafted from green jade, is one of the museum's most treasured exhibits. It was made in Samarkand and rightfully considered a masterpiece of medieval Eastern art.

The bowl, registered in the British Museum under the number №1959,1120.1, was created in Samarkand between 1420 and 1449. It has an oval shape and a capacity of 200-250 ml. An ancient legend suggests that jade vessels could detect the presence of poisonous liquids.

This bowl is made from jade sourced near Hotan in eastern Turkestan, in the Kunlun mountain range. It is known that the scholar and ruler Mirzo Ulugh Beg highly valued this material: the stone placed above the tomb of Amir Timur is also made of jade.

The exact circumstances of how the bowl ended up in the British Museum remain unclear. According to some sources, it was brought to Turkey by Mirzo Ulugh Beg's student, Ali Kushchi. He arrived in Istanbul to continue his mentor's scientific legacy and may have taken this bowl with him as a commemorative relic.

The rare bowl was first reported by British scholars Ralph Pinder-Wilson and William Watson. To date, it has been exhibited at several major exhibitions around the world, including in China, the USA, Canada, and Australia.

This unique bowl once again affirms the high level of medieval Eastern art and the invaluable heritage of our great ancestor Mirzo Ulugh Beg.