North Caucasus Branch of the State Museum of Oriental Art

About museum

In 1985 the North Caucasus Branch of the State Museum of Oriental Art was opened — the only museum in Russia specializing in the art of the North Caucasus. Its collection features objects of fine and folk art from this region. The branch is a cultural-educational and scientific-research institution of regional significance, and can therefore rightfully be called "the gateway to the art of the Caucasus." The initiator of the museum's creation was Alexander Mikhailovich Leskov, and the first director was Aslan Gisovich Kushu. The reason for creating the branch was the transfer to the State Museum of Oriental Art of unique items of material culture from archaeological excavations. Among the exhibits is the famous silver rhyton "Pegasus." The exhibition "Treasures of the Kurgans of Adygea" became popular in many countries and led to the creation of a museum dedicated to the unified artistic space of the North Caucasus.