1 1/2 cols

Incense burner or pomander in the form of a lynx, Iran, late Twelfth or early Thirteenth Century, copper alloy. ©Nour Foundation, Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

1 1/2 cols.

Rectangular casket (front view) with the remains of a combination lock. From Iraq, Jazire, 1200–1250 AD, sheet brass with silver inlay. ©Nour Foundation, Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

2 cols.

Single volume Qur’an, probably written for the Safavid Shah Tahmasp, Iran, Shiraz or Qazwin, 1552 AD, ink, watercolors and gold on paper. ©Nour Foundation, Courtesy of the Khalili Family Trust.

6-15

THE ARTS OF ISLAM AT ART GALLERY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

W/2 cuts requested via email; set 6-6; AK; #702376

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Iranian-born Nasser David Khalili is custodian of one of the world’s largest private collection of Islamic art; his passion for Islamic art began as a young boy and continued into adulthood. Four years ago Edmund Capon, Art Gallery of New South Wales director, flew to London to meet Khalili to discuss bringing a selection of the finest and rarest pieces of his Islamic art collection to Australia.

On June 22, “The Arts of Islam,” a major exhibition of more than 350 pieces of Islamic art from the Khalili Collection, will open to the public at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and will be on view through September 23.

In Islam, beauty is seen as a quality of the divine, and is frequently expressed through the use of vibrant colors in illuminated manuscripts with intricate designs that display beautiful and often highly complex calligraphy, not only as a tool of decoration but also as an expression of faith.

 “The Arts of Islam” illustrates the breadth of artistic achievement in the Islamic world from the Seventh to the early Twentieth Century. Objects from the early Islamic dynasties of the Seventh to Tenth Centuries demonstrate the artistic influences of the preceding Sasanian and Byzantine periods, and are represented by a truly unique display of colorful ceramics, luster painted glass and rarely preserved finely woven textiles.

The medieval Islamic period (Tenth to early Thirteenth Century) is considered to be a time of exceptional artistic production involving new technical innovations such as luster painted ceramics, as well as the introduction of new materials such as paper, and new techniques in manuscript decoration, seen in the display of illuminated Qur’ans.

Islamic art following the Mongol invasions of the Thirteenth Century features refined styles heavily influenced by cultures of Central Asia and the Far East, such as China. Objects of particular interest are a saddle with brilliant, delicate filigree gold trappings, dating from the Thirteenth/Fourteenth Century and Rashid al-Din’s Jami’ al-Tawarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), the first history of the world, written in the Thirteenth/Fourteenth Century, seen through the eyes of the Mongol conquerors.

An increase in the production of illuminated manuscripts, in particular wonderfully detailed Persian and Ottoman miniature paintings, the development and profusion of blue and white ceramic wares as well as the emergence of fine Iznik pottery, is expressed in the display of objects from the Safavid and Ottoman periods (Sixteenth to Nineteenth Centuries). Colorful enameled objects from Mughal India, intricately executed jeweled pieces studded with precious stones and finely woven carpets and textiles featured strongly in these periods.

Khalili is an Islamic scholar, a devout Jew, a passionate collector of art and the founder of the Maimonides Foundation, a charitable organization that encourages peace and understanding between Muslims and Jews. He believes, “The real weapon of mass destruction is ignorance.” This exhibition of the Khalili collection will open “The Arts of Islam” and reveal the West’s debt to Muslim culture.

The Art Gallery of New South Wales is at Art Gallery Road, The Domain. For information,  61 2 9225 1791 or www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.