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Collection: Arts of the Islamic World

HIGHLIGHTS

FULL COLLECTION

Prince Yahya Manuscript of the Hadiqat al-Su`ada (Garden of the Blessed) of Fuzuli Battle of Karbala Khusraw Discovers Shirin Bathing, From Pictorial Cycle of Eight Poetic Subjects Bowl with Peacock Motif Hunter on Horseback Attacked by a Lion Spherical Hanging Ornament Tiraz Fragment of Caliph Marwan II Folio of Poetry From the Divan of Sultan Husayn Mirza Bowl of Reflections Rosebushes, Bees, and a Dragonfly Shah Abbas II (reigned 1642-1667) Bowl with an Enthronement Scene Fragment of a Bowl Depicting a Mounted Warrior Album Folio with Calligraphy Bottle Depicting a Hunting Scene Mirror Case Jug (Mashraba) with Human-Headed Inscription and Zodiac Signs Illustrated Manuscript of the Dalail al-Khayrat (The Ways of Edification) of al-Jazuli Medallion Ushak Carpet Folio from the "Blue" Quran Panel of Tiles Tombs of Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839) and Abdul Aziz (r. 1861-1876) Mirror Case Molded Tile "Bahram Gur at the Home of Baraham the Jew," Page from an Illustrated Manuscript of the Second Small Shahnama of Firdawsi (d. 1020) Cup Prayer Stone 5 The Loss of Our Identity #1 (Boy) Bowl with Kufic Inscription Top Section of a Water Jug Bowl with Kufic Calligraphy

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.