Originally used to illustrate classic texts and manuscripts, the art of the miniature was introduced to Central Asia by the Persians. Their somewhat subsidiary status as mere visual accompaniment is perhaps what allowed them to survive in an Islamic society where visual representations of living things were considered sacrilege. Narrative in nature, each miniature tells a story through symbols and no detail is extraneous; “read” from right to left and bottom to top, miniatures record historical events and local folklore, and are delicate testaments to their time.

Curiously enough, the term “miniature” doesn’t relate to the diminutive size of the illustration, but instead references the red-orange pigment called “minima,” popular with Persian and Mughal miniaturists. Set in a flat plane, with no attempt at realism, miniatures were supposed to be painted from the perspective of a minaret, which is why they most often depict their subjects straight on from the side, or from above.