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Among a large number of works of decorative art, housed in the collections of the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Elbassy, the tapestry "Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi" of Honored Worker of Arts of RK, member of the State Prize of the Kazakh SSR named after Ch.Valikhanov Batima Zaurbekova is especially distinguished.
This exhibit was presented in 2013 to Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the period when he served as the Chairman of the Senate of the Parliament of Kazakhstan.
The tapestry is made of colored wool threads in the technique of hand weaving. The panel depicts a mausoleum on the grave of the poet and preacher Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, located in the city of Turkestan, South Kazakhstan Region.
Khoja Ahmed Yassawi was a recognized head of the Turkic branch of Sufism, thinker, poet. His work "Divan-I-Hikmet" ("Book of wisdom") has been preserved. Biographical information is sketchy. The formation of the personality of Ahmed is connected with the city of Yassy (one of the former names of the city of Turkestan from the VI to XV centuries), where he arrived at the age of 17. He later headed for Bukhara, where he took an apprenticeship at Hamadani. Having acquired the rank of an expert in Sufism, Yassawi returned to Yassy and continued the tradition established by Arystanbab. Crowds of pilgrims flocked to him.
According to legend, at the age of 63, Yassawi had to leave the vanities of the world to serve the Almighty. He settled in an underground cell in the city of Yassy, near the mosque, where he spent the rest of his life. In 1166, Khoja Ahmed Yassawi died and was buried with great honor in a small mausoleum in Yassy. In 1395, by order of the great commander Tamerlane, a grandiose mausoleum was erected on the site of a small tomb of Yassawi, which is considered a masterpiece of medieval architecture in Kazakhstan.
Soon the memorial complex became one of the most popular places of mass pilgrimage and worship for Muslims throughout Central Asia. It became the first historical monument of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the list of the greatest creations of mankind.
The author of the tapestry Batima Zaurbekova is a permanent participant of national and international exhibitions of decorative and applied art. Her work has been exhibited in numerous exhibitions in Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Switzerland, France, Italy and Iran. Paintings and tapestries of the artist are in public and private collections around the world.
The work of Batima Zaurbekova is associated with a whole stage in the history of the formation of the art of Kazakhstan tapestry, which began in the 1970s. Her works have always been recognizable and unique, endowed with artistry and depth of feeling, a philosophical understanding of life. A special melody of rhythm, unusual colorfulness and richness of associative thinking distinguish her works based on an organic connection with the origins of Kazakh folk culture. For many years, Batima Zaurbekova has shown an interest in the history, ancient material culture, traditions and ornamental art of the Kazakh people. To date, her work includes more than 300 tapestries.
"The art of tapestry itself implies a visual solution in a decorative and figurative way. I am attracted to the fact that the art of tapestries is not characterized by realism, it is based on the symbolism of an artistic image, it involves the search for symbolic signs, their transformation into memorable interesting images, the ability to compare, change something," B. Zaurbekova noted in an interview.