Reverent Ornament: Art from the Islamic World

“The collection contains the art of the people and civilizations that have come and gone but whose wonderful work has remained with us to enjoy and admire.”

– Dr. Joseph B. Touma, Collector

“These small and beautiful relics of earlier cultures and times serve to remind us that a common bond of values and hopes exists across seemingly intimidating boundaries, and that ultimately an understanding of this reality gives both knowledge and understanding, both promise and pleasure, to all of those who will visit and enjoy the Touma Collection.”

– Dr. Walter B. Denny, Professor of Islamic Art, University of Massachusetts at Amherst

Geographically, the Islamic World encompasses a large and central part of what today is commonly referred to as the Middle East, a region whose cultures, societies, and daily life are all deeply colored by the dominant faith of Islam, and whose nations largely anchor their laws and praxis in notions of Islamic principles. At the same time, the region’s long history unites a multitude of diverse lands, peoples, and civilizations that have coalesced over the centuries into a rich medley of ethnicities and languages, religions and sects, economic systems, and living customs—as well as complex contrasts in geography, climate, arable land, and natural resources.

One might expect, therefore, that in a region so difficult to define, the arts would naturally reflect this diversity and make no visual or aesthetic sense as a group. To the contrary, it is precisely through the diversity of its food, music, dress, social customs, family organization, and (especially) the visual arts of the Islamic World that we can trace with deepest clarity the forces of social and cultural cohesion that—despite all of the conflicts and contradictions—continue to bind the region’s peoples and places together into one remarkable entity.

Comprising works of fine glassware, ceramics, metalwork, painting, weaponry, weaving, and much more, Reverent Ornament shares 45 timeless treasures from a region whose everyday life, history, and culture offer many parallels to our own. The works, some of which are centuries old, include objects meant for palaces as well as ordinary homes, evoking a rich and comprehensive vision of daily life, both recent and long ago. If it is true that peace begins through understanding, then this ambitious collection offers us a rare opportunity for artistic exchange—a living bridge between cultures.

Please contact TravelingExhibitions@ArtsandArtists.org for more information.

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