Our Lady of the Chouqduff

Seated high upon a Chouqduff, Our Lady travels not merely across landscapes, but between realms; the visible world beneath her and the imagined one she carries within. Around her, riders and attendants move with purpose, guiding camels and horses through rolling hills and golden plains, yet she remains serene, almost otherworldly. With scrolls at her side and her veil stirring in the wind, she feels less like a passenger and more like a keeper of crossings, a woman who knows that movement itself can be a kind of wisdom, and that some journeys are meant to be witnessed as much as taken.

The piece is framed using Abri, a traditional Central Asian paper-marbling technique in which pigments are floated on water, shaped into organic patterns, and then transferred onto paper. Historically used for manuscripts, bookbinding, and borders, Abri creates the swirling, marbled frame you see here. A quiet nod to the Chouqduff itself: a vessel made for wanderers, storytellers, and those who cross thresholds.

Original miniature portrait (Origin: Bukhara), framed in double-glass frames (front and back viewable) to preserve both pigment and light. Dimensions: 29 cm x 33 cm.