Michael Chagnon Synopsis: The Aga Khan Museum collection includes a folio from the so-called “Drouot” Album, named after the Parisian auction house where its contents were dispersed in 1982. At the center of the folio is a late seventeenth-century painting that was produced in Iran. It is executed in the nim qalam (“half-pen”) technique and…
Tag: Nature and Ecology Topics
Aisha Khalid’s “Your Way Begins on the Other Side” in the Aga Khan Museum
Elizabeth Rauh Synopsis: Aisha Khalid’s 2014 Your Way Begins on the Other Side is a large, dual-sided textile installation that weaves together various historical art traditions and materials across Islamic history and global contemporary art. Crafted by Khalid’s workshop team in Lahore, the artist’s research in embroidery and geometry as well as sacred environments are…
A Stone-Inlaid Water Fountain in the Aga Khan Museum
Patricia Blessing Synopsis: Indoor fountains such as this object, made of stone, with rich, multi-colored inlay and complex waterspouts, were common features in elite residences in Egypt and Syria from the Mamluk period onwards. Today, few of these fountains remain in situ. In Cairo, examples survive from the Ottoman period, for instance at the seventeenth-…
An Iznik Dish with a Garden Pavilion at the Aga Khan Museum
Charlotte Maury Synopsis: This talk discusses a dish that can be dated to seventeenth-century Iznik, the most important Ottoman ceramic production center. Drawing inspiration from natural forms such as saffron flowers and hyacinths, the artist fashioned the garden pavilion in a stylized and abstract manner. The building itself is an unusual feature, rarely encountered in…
A Badge of the Persian Order of the Lion-and-Sun in the Aga Khan Museum
Aseman Talebi Synopsis: The lion and sun motif, known in Persian as shir-o-khorshid, recurs across Iranian history in many different forms and materials. The Badge of the Order of the Lion-and-Sun, held at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, is one such object that displays the leonine-solar duo. The order was crafted as a diplomatic…
A Large Ottoman Embroidery with Pinecones in the Aga Khan Museum
Amanda Phillips Synopsis: A large-scale Ottoman embroidery, now at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, may have been used as a quilt- or mattress-cover in the home of a relatively wealthy individual. It was probably made by a professional workshop, which had access to large pieces of linen ground fabric as well as to silk…
A Gilt and Inscribed Leaf in the Aga Khan Museum
Christiane Gruber Synopsis: The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto preserves a magnificent leaf, possibly from a carob tree. It was dipped in gold and inscribed with a verse from the Qur’an (17:80) that calls upon God to grant believers an honorable entrance and exit. Most likely made in Ottoman lands during the 19th century, these…
Two Muharram Processional Standards (‘Alams) in the Aga Khan Museum
Aliyah Khan Synopsis: The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto holds two large steel Muharram processional standards (‘alams), likely produced in 16th–17th century Deccan Shi‘i India and showing strong Safavid Iranian influences. Featuring stylized protective dragons, the two standards would have topped staffs in azadari Ashura (10 Muharram) processions commemorating Imam Husayn’s martyrdom at Karbala in…
A Hot Wind Blows: Ecocritical Art in the Middle East
Elizabeth Rauh Synopsis: This talk examines contemporary ecocritical art of the Middle East. It offers an introduction to some of the creative methods artists are using to address the multifaceted crisis of climate change and today’s ecological emergencies. Around the world, eco-centered artworks and projects are challenging historically anthropocentric views. Less well-known, yet ever more…
The Baths of al-Walid at Qusayr ‘Amra
Alexander Brey Synopsis: Qusayr ʿAmra (sometimes called Qasr ʿAmra) is an eighth-century bathhouse located in eastern Jordan. Decorated for the Umayyad crown prince al-Walid ibn Yazid before he ascended to the caliphate in 743, the baths are filled with an astonishing variety of figural imagery. Synthesizing work by epigraphers, art historians, and archaeologists, this video…