Museum history
The State institution “National Museum” of the Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan was founded in accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan dated July 27, 2011, №1094. The total area of the museum is 24,000 m2, of which 15,000 m2 is intended for exhibition. The museum has 22 exhibition halls, which present the ancient history and rich culture of the Tajik people. The museum has 5 storage facilities for storing exhibits, and a laboratory has been created for the restoration and conservation of exhibits.
The National Museum has four exhibition departments for visitors: the nature department, the ancient and medieval history department, the modern and contemporary history department, and the applied and fine arts department.
Ground floor
The nature department, which is located in the basement of the museum, provides visitors with information about the flora and fauna, glaciers, specially protected natural areas, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries of Tajikistan. The nature department has a special geological hall, where samples of minerals from various deposits of the country are exhibited, the evolution of life on Earth is presented, and there is a corner of paleontology (fossilized organisms). In the center of the mentioned hall there is an artificial tree made of precious and semi-precious stones of Tajikistan. This tree is 3.4 m high, weighs 600 kg and has 19,536 leaves made from precious and semi-precious stones of Tajikistan. At the same time, in this department you can get acquainted with the fauna of Tajikistan through the dioramas “Pamir”, “Childukhtaron”, “Dashtijum” and “Beshai Palangon”.
First floor
The Department of Ancient and Medieval History is the largest department of the National Museum, located on the first and second floors of the building. On the ground floor, the department’s exhibition begins with a map of historical monuments of Tajikistan. At the same time, exhibits in the exhibition halls of this floor provide information about Stone Age finds in Tajikistan, the settlement of Sarazm, Zoroastrian culture, pottery and the Achaemenid Empire. Also on the ground floor there is a special numismatic hall of the museum, the materials of which tell about the history of coinage, paper bills and commemorative coins of Tajikistan. This part of the exhibition presents coins from the Achaemenid era, the Greco-Bactrian kingdom (III-II centuries BC), the Kushan period (II centuries BC – IV centuries AD), the Sasanian Empire (III-VII centuries), Bukhara coins (VIII-X centuries), Samanid coins (IX-X centuries), Qarakhanid coins (XI century), Chagatai coins (XII-XIII centuries), coins of the Temurid era (XIV-XV century), Manghit coins (XIX century). In other halls of this floor, visitors can get acquainted with the imitation of the Takhti Sangin settlement, the states of the Greek and Bactrian eras, the Kushan and Sasanian states, the Hephthalites and ancient Penjikent. The museum contains relics of ancient Penjikent (V-VIII centuries): wall paintings, a burnt statue of a dancing girl, and ceramic items with ornaments. This center of Tajik civilization is known in the world as the “Pompeii of the East”. In the continuation of this hall, the audience is presented with finds from the Bunjikat settlement and the Qalai Mug fortress. The last corner of this room presents the written heritage of the Tajik people. In the round hall, which is located on the first floor of the museum, visitors have the opportunity to see an imitation of the Buddhist monastery “Ajinateppa”.
Second floor
The second floor of the museum begins with the preserved monuments of the Samanid period. The exhibition hall presents monuments from the Hulbuk fortress, samples of painted ceramics of the 10th century, a wooden mehrab from the village of Iskodar, samples of wood carvings discovered in the upper reaches of the Zarafshan river, samples of fabrics from the village of Bozordara, as well as a special section of this exhibition dedicated to Tajik thinkers and poets. Visitors in this hall can see examples of calligraphy of the Tajik ancestors on stone and copper products.
In the exhibition halls of the department of modern and recent history of the museum, monuments and exhibits from the period of the Soviet Union (1917-1991) are stored, which provide information about the economic, social and cultural life of the Republic of Tajikistan during this period. A separate corner is dedicated to Tajikistan’s participation in the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). At the same time, this department reflects the achievements of the times of independence, such as the construction of roads, tunnels and other modern facilities.
The National Museum on the second floor has a separate special hall of gifts from the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, where gifts are displayed presented to the President of the Republic of Tajikistan by representatives of heads of state and government of other countries.
Third floor
The exhibition halls of the museum’s department of fine and applied arts provide viewers with information about various genres and types of fine and decorative art: portrait, landscape, still life, sculpture. The exhibition of this department begins with the work of artists of the 1930s of the 20th century and gradually reflects the development of fine and applied arts in the Republic of Tajikistan. Also, in the small hall of this department, viewers are presented with samples of wood carvings made by masters of the 20th-21st centuries.
