The MFAH Highlights Arts of the Islamic World Beginning in January

More than 250 Islamic masterworks from the renowned al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, will be on view

Some 80 permanent-collection artworks and important local loans to be reinstalled in two dedicated galleries

HOUSTON—January 21, 2015—January marks the opening of two important installations of Islamic art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. A partnership with the Kuwait-based al-Sabah Collection continues with an expanded installation of Arts of Islamic Lands: Selections from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, on view beginning Saturday, January 31, 2015, following the Museum’s Arts of the Islamic World Gala on Friday, January 30, 2015. On the occasion of this new installation, Dr. Aimée E. Froom, the newly appointed curator of Arts of the Islamic World, has reinstalled two dedicated galleries with objects from the Museum’s expanding permanent collection.

The landmark partnership with The al-Sabah Collection, one of the greatest privately held collections of Islamic art in the world, was first announced in November 2012 by Museum director Gary Tinterow and al-Sabah Collection co-owners Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah and Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah. The agreement, which was originally negotiated with the assistance of Mahrukh Tarapor, the Museum’s senior advisor for international initiatives, debuted in January 2013 with a presentation of 67 objects ranging from carpets and architectural fragments to exquisite ceramics, metalwork, jewelry, scientific instruments, and manuscripts. An expanded installation more than triples the display, increasing the artworks on view to more than 250 objects that, together, present an impressive and comprehensive range of Islamic art. The installation was curated by The al-Sabah Collection curator, Salam Kaoukji, with guest curator Giovanni Curatola.

This display—which includes objects from the 8th to the 18th centuries, made in the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, India, and Central Asia—demonstrates the development of techniques, craftsmanship, and aesthetics in Islamic visual culture. Among the highlights are a 16th-century Ottoman Turkish prayer carpet; a selection of early gold jewelry from Afghanistan and Syria; a glass mosque lamp from 14th-century Cairo; an extraordinary earthenware bowl from 9th-century Iraq that transcends its humble function; and opulent Mughal jewelry crafted in the refined kundan technique, including a brilliant bird pendant fabricated in late 16th-century India from gold, rubies, emeralds, diamonds, and rock crystals.

“We are thrilled to continue our collaboration with the prestigious al-Sabah Collection with this expanded installation,” said Tinterow. “Since Houston is home to a large and diverse Muslim community, it is fitting that the art and culture of the Islamic world will be prominently featured in the al-Sabah installation and a complementary reinstallation of our permanent Arts of the Islamic World galleries.”

“Since its inception in 1983, part of our vision for the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah has been the sharing of works of art from The al-Sabah Collection with the public, in and out of Kuwait,” said Sheikha Hussah. “These objects are tangible products of artists and artisans from Islamic lands, representing more than 13 centuries of art, history and culture. The expansion of the exhibition Arts of Islamic Lands: Selections from The al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait at the Museum represents Gary Tinterow’s vision for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. His efforts reflect his recognition that there is a community that deserves to be represented in the Museum and an audience that is open to learning more about the art and culture of the Islamic world. With more than 200 objects from The al-Sabah Collection on display at the MFAH, the Museum is where our visions meet.”

“We are so delighted to expand our installation of the extraordinary al-Sabah Collection and our permanent galleries,” said Dr. Froom. “This will give us a strong platform for presenting and studying the arts of the Islamic world in Houston. We look forward to expanding our programming as well.”

The reinstallation of the Museum’s permanent collection will double the gallery space dedicated to the Arts of the Islamic World. In addition to masterpieces from the permanent collection, the installation will also feature important loans from private collections in Houston. Items on view include a 12th-century bronze incense burner in the form of a stylized feline figure from the Iranian world; a rare, elaborately illuminated 14th-century Qur’an from present-day Morocco; and a remarkable, early-16th-century tondino from Iznik, Turkey, the center of production for one of the most distinctive types of ceramics in the Islamic world. A new “Collections in Conversation” section will encourage visitors to look beyond the borders of the Islamic world and make global connections. The first installation will feature Bartolomeo Bettera’s Still Life with Musical Instruments (c. 1680), drawn from the Sarah Campbell Blaffer Foundation, in conversation with an Ottoman lute and a Nasrid Spanish scribe’s box similar to the objects depicted in the painting.

About the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI) is a cultural organization based on the Kuwaiti private art collection of Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, founder of The al-Sabah Collection, and his wife, DAI director general and co-founder Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah. The collection preserves and presents all aspects of Islamic art and includes more than 30,000 pieces extending from Spain to China, from the 1st to 13th centuries AH (7th to 19th centuries AD). Established in 1983, DAI was created to manage The al-Sabah Collection permanent loan to the State of Kuwait, under the auspices of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters. Since its inception, DAI has grown from a single focus organization to an internationally recognized cultural organization whose main activities include:

1. An annual Cultural Season (lectures, music concerts, forum, workshops, children’s program, quarterly magazine/journal, quarterly newsletter, cultural expeditions)
2. Traveling exhibitions and loans
3. Conservation training and other education programs
4. Research and excavation projects

In addition to a highly specialized library that includes rare books, DAI is also involved in the publication of scholarly books on Islamic art and culture.

Finally, while the rehabilitation project of DAI’s buildings at the Kuwait National Museum is under way, the Amricani Cultural Centre is the temporary home of DAI. The Amricani Cultural Centre is the setting for most of the organization’s activities and events, including local temporary exhibitions and DAI’s cultural season events.

About the Arts of the Islamic World at the MFAH
The Arts of the Islamic World program at the MFAH was established as an institutional commitment to collect, exhibit, and interpret arts from the Islamic world. Since 2007, the Museum has begun to develop a focused collection with an emphasis on quality and rarity of the objects. The growing collection has been acquired primarily with funds raised at the Arts of the Islamic World Galas, with support from the Friends of the Arts of the Islamic World patron group, and with gifts from generous donors. The program has also brought to the MFAH significant exhibitions, including Treasury of the World: The Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals (2002); Traces of the Calligrapher: Islamic Calligraphy in Practice, c. 1600–1900 (2007); Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam (2010); and Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts (2011).

About the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Established in 1900, the MFAH is the oldest art museum in the region, with collections spanning antiquity to the present. The MFAH main campus comprises the Audrey Jones Beck Building, designed by Rafael Moneo and opened in 2000; the Caroline Wiess Law Building, designed by Mies van der Rohe and opened in 1958, with an extension completed in 1974; and the Lillie and Hugh Roy Cullen Sculpture Garden, designed by Isamu Noguchi and opened in 1986. The Beck and Law buildings are connected by the Wilson Tunnel, which features James Turrell’s iconic installation The Light Inside. Additional spaces include a repertory cinema, two libraries, public archives, and facilities for conservation and storage. Nearby, two house museums—Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens and Rienzi—present American and European decorative arts. The MFAH is also home to the Glassell School of Art and its acclaimed Core Residency Program and Junior and Studio Schools; and the International Center for the Arts of the Americas (ICAA), a leading research institute for 20th-century Latin American and Latino art.

Media Contacts
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