Permanent Installations
New Islamic Art Galleries at Brooklyn Museum
By STAN PARCHIN
December 28, 2009
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Islamic (mid-19th Century). Molded Tile. Ceramic, under glaze. 34.9 x 3 x 29.8 cm (13 3/4 x 1 3/16 x 11 3/4 in.). Brooklyn Museum. |
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| Islamic (9th-10th Century). Bowl. Ceramic. 12.9 x 42.5 cm (5 1/16 x 16 3/4 in.). Brooklyn Museum. |
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Islamic (late 12th-early 13th Century). Top Section of a Water Jug. 29.2 x 34.2 cm (11 1/2 x 13 1/2 in.). Brooklyn Museum. |
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| Abbas Al-Musavi. Battle of Karbala (late 19th-early 20th Century). Oil on canvas. 182.9 x 299.7 cm (72 x 118 in.). Brooklyn Museum. |
The reinstallation of the Islamic art galleries at the Brooklyn Museum includes works from the 8th Century to modern times. Opened on June 5, 2009, the permanent display highlights 134 objects from some 1,700 in an American collection considered top-notch by art historians. Twenty works have never before or rarely been seen by the public.
Arts of the Islamic World Collection
Especially strong in later Iranian art, the Brooklyn Museum's Islamic holdings come from North Africa, the Middle East, Central and Southeast Asia. On view are illustrated and illuminated manuscripts, calligraphies, drawings, oil paintings, ceramics, glass, metal- and woodwork, carpets, costumes, textiles, jewelry and architectural elements. Originally part of the Department of Ethnology in 1903, the collection was administered by the Department of Asian Art from the 1980s until 2007.
The museum's reinstallation uses new signage, explanatory texts and maps to describe the thematically arranged works from Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other countries. Ceremonial and household goods, devotional objects, weaponry, armor and horse trappings figure prominently in the display.
A section of the galleries reserved for small rotating presentations is dedicated to book arts and storytelling through January 2010. Its objective is to dispel the notion that Islam prohibits figural imagery through the appearance of illustrated Qur'ans, prayer books and histories of religious persons.
Bowl
A glazed earthenware Bowl (late 9th-early 10th Century), perhaps made in Iran or Uzbekistan, is similar to "black-and-white" wares discovered at the archaeological sites of Nishapur and Samarkand. Inscribed in elegant kufic script, the saucer bears an Arabic proverb: Peace is that which is silent and the inner [thoughts] of the man with faults will only be revealed through his speech.
Top Section of a Water Jug
One of the Brooklyn Museum's Islamic masterworks is the Top Section of a Water Jug (late 12th-early 13th Century). Possibly produced in northern Iraq, unglazed ceramic habbs were used to cool stored water. The remnant's elaborate decoration, similar to that found in manuscript painting of the same period, shows a ruler seated on a carpet against a background of scrolling vines and birds. The potentate's armed attendants are accompanied by winged harpies whose tails end in dragon heads.
Battle of Karbala
The new Islamic art galleries' centerpiece is Abbas Al-Musavi's Battle of Karbala (late 19th-early 20th Century), an oil on canvas composition from Isfahan, Iran. Painted in the "coffeehouse" style, its complex imagery illustrates the martyrdom of Husayn, grandson of Muhammad (ca. 570-632), the prophet and founder of Islam. The work was originally used as a processional or theatrical backdrop.
The Brooklyn Museum's reinstallation, the first of its kind in a decade, explores facets of traditional and modern Islamic culture through sumptuous works of art from the last 12 centuries.