Abstract
The relevance of the study is caused by insufficient scholarly examination of the Islamic manuscript book as an integral artistic object, especially during the key period of transition from manuscript to early print culture. The aim of the work is to identify the interrelationship between material form, artistic design, and genre content of Central Asian manuscripts. The research was conducted using a comprehensive methodology, including comparative analysis of manuscript and lithographic techniques, stylistic analysis of calligraphy and miniatures, as well as the study of material carriers such as paper, inks, and bindings. The main results showed that calligraphy occupied a dominant position in the hierarchy of the arts, and the choice of scripts, such as naskh or nasta'liq, was directly linked to the genre of the work - didactic, poetic, or historical. It was established that figurative and non-figurative elements of the manuscript functioned as “paratext”, where the ornamental programme signalled the sacred or secular nature of the text, and miniatures performed various functions depending on the genre, from exegetical (interpretative) in Qur'anic narratives to narrative in epic literature and documentary in chronicles. This study confirmed that the Islamic manuscript constituted an integral artistic object in which every material and aesthetic component was deliberately used to interpret and enhance the communicative function of the text. The results obtained propose an analytical model for analysing the manuscript as a dynamic space in which artistic form was strategically determined by intellectual objectives, reflecting complex cultural hierarchies and values. The practical significance of the conducted research lies in the development of an interdisciplinary analytical model that provides the possibility not only of descriptive analysis but also of interpretation of manuscript material as an integral cultural artefact. The results obtained and the methodological approaches may be used in subsequent studies of manuscript collections and in related fields of the humanities.