Turkey, Prayer Carpet, 2nd half of 16th century, wool and cotton pile on silk foundation, The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait.
The renowned al-Sabah Collection is one of the greatest privately held collections of Islamic art in the world. This exhibition at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, includes 250 works that, together, present an impressive and comprehensive spectrum of Islamic art. Objects from the 8th to 18th century—made in North Africa, the Middle East, Turkey, India, the Iberian Peninsula, and Central Asia—demonstrate the development of techniques, craftsmanship, and aesthetics in Islamic visual culture.
Among the highlights are a 16th-century Ottoman Turkish prayer carpet; a glass mosque lamp from 14th-century Cairo; an extraordinary earthenware bowl from 9th-century Iraq that transcends its humble function; early gold jewelry from Afghanistan and Syria; 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.
See more here
Turkey, Prayer Carpet, 2nd half of 16th century, wool and cotton pile on silk foundation, The al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait.
Issue 66, December 2023
Turkey’s Centenary Issue
