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Collection: Arts of the Islamic World

HIGHLIGHTS

FULL COLLECTION

Manuscript of the Hadiqat al-Su`ada (Garden of the Blessed) of Fuzuli Battle of Karbala Bowl with Peacock Motif Spherical Hanging Ornament Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing, From Pictorial Cycle of Eight Poetic Subjects Hunter on Horseback Attacked by a Lion Folio of Poetry From the Divan of Sultan Husayn Mirza Prince Yahya Fragment of a Bowl Depicting a Mounted Warrior Rosebushes, Bees, and a Dragonfly Bowl of Reflections Mirror Case Bowl with an Enthronement Scene Bottle Depicting a Hunting Scene Jug (Mashraba) with Human-Headed Inscription and Zodiac Signs Medallion Ushak Carpet Folio from the "Blue" Quran Mirror Case Cup "Bahram Gur at the Home of Baraham the Jew," Page from an Illustrated Manuscript of the Second Small Shahnama of Firdawsi (d. 1020) Molded Tile Hunter on Horseback Attacked by a Mythical Beast Bowl with Kufic Inscription Panel of Tiles Top Section of a Water Jug Blue and White Bowl with Radial Design Tiraz Fragment of Caliph Marwan II Velvet Panel Bowl with Kufic Calligraphy A Gathering of Dervishes Wine Goblet Sultan Sanjar and the Old Woman

COLLECTION HISTORY

Our collection of Islamic art includes about two thousand objects that span thirteen centuries and represent a variety of cultures from around the world, from Spain to India and Central Asia to North Africa. Building upon the initial holdings established by Brooklyn Museum curator Stewart Culin (1858–1929) in the early decades of the twentieth century, the collection has continued to expand from acquisitions and gifts, most notably through the generosity of curator Charles K. Wilkinson (1897–1974) and of the Ernest Erickson Foundation.

Particular strengths of the Islamic collection include medieval ceramics and tilework from Iran (ninth through fifteenth centuries); Ottoman Turkish carpets, textiles, and manuscripts; the arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, including miniatures, oil painting, calligraphy, ceramics, lacquerwork, carpets, textiles, and costumes (sixteenth through twentieth centuries); and North African and Turkoman textiles, costumes, and jewelry (nineteenth and twentieth centuries). Our holdings of Qajar art constitute one of the world's preeminent collections outside of Iran.
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