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Birds of a feather: a magnificent Ushak ‘bird carpet’, and the first rumblings of deaccession

London Islamic Sales Week 2020

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | October 26, 2020

It's Islamic Sales Week again! And as always there are lovely artefacts waiting to be discovered and snapped up. It is astonishing to see an institution of the LA Mayer Museum for Islamic Art in Jerusalem's standing open its doors, even a chink, to deaccession treasures. Covid no doubt means...

Posted in Islamic Art

Sotheby’s is back with a spectacular Bond Street Arts of the Islamic World & India Sale

On Wednesday, June 10, the auction house launches London’s long-delayed spring sales of Islamic and Indian art

By Cornucopia Connoisseur | June 6, 2020

After an auction-starved spring, hats off to Edward Gibbs, Benedict Carter and the Islamic Department at Sotheby’s London for persevering with their postponed sale Arts of the Islamic World & India including Fine Rugs & Carpets, originally planned for April – and what a handsome sale it is. The sale...

Posted in Islamic Art

Chelsea’s Central Asian flower show

Gardens of Delight: enchanting suzanis at the Afridi Gallery

By Roger Williams | June 26, 2018

Shabaz Afridi hadn’t quite realised the significance of opening his new gallery on the day of the Brexit referendum. The small advertisement he had placed in the Financial Times appeared following the vote — and as newspapers were being picked over on news broadcasts, the name of the Afridi gallery...

Posted in Islamic Art, Textiles

Howard Hodgkin: a grand gesture

Portrait of an Artist, the Howard Hodgkin sale at Sotheby’s, October 24, 2017

By Thomas Roueché | October 15, 2017

That Howard Hodgkin (1932–2017) was an important collector of Indian Art is well known – not least from the frequent displays of his work internationally (two might be Visions of Mughal India: The Collection of Howard Hodgkin, at the Ashmolean, Oxford; and Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700, Opulence and Fantasy,...

Posted in Fine Art, Islamic Art

Sakıp Sabancı calligraphy galleries reopened

By Cornucopia TR | February 7, 2011

Having temporarily been forced to vacate its galleries at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum to make way for the Jameel Prize show, the world-class calligraphy collection held there has now returned to its rightful place. Not only is the original selection on display, but new pieces have been added, including works...

Posted in Islamic Art

Turkish art and culture lecture series in the United States

By Cornucopia TR | February 7, 2011

Next month, Professor Dr Nurhan Atasoy will be giving a series of lectures across the United States with the support of the Turkish Cultural Foundation. On 14 March, the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology, Ann Arbor, will be treated to a talk entitled "Ottoman Gardens." This talk will be repeated on...

Posted in Islamic Art, Talks and Lectures

In Memoriam - Edmund de Unger

By Cornucopia TR | January 31, 2011

It was with great sadness that we received the news of Edmund de Unger's death on Tuesday 25 January, at the age of 92. A passionate collector of Islamic art since his early years, his collection encompassed carpets and textiles, ceramics, metal, rock crystal and miniatures. For many years, the...

Posted in Islamic Art

‘Vorsicht Glas!” finissage, Museum für Islamische Kunst, Berlin

By Cornucopia TR | January 24, 2011

Due to overwhelming demand, the exhibition "Vorsicht Glas! - Fragile Art 700-2010" at the Museum für Islamische Kunst has been extended until 13 February 2011. This show, which exhibits sixty-one pieces from the Museum's glass collection alongside eight contemporary items, will end on 10 February with a talk by Turkish...

Posted in Islamic Art, Talks and Lectures

...and some bad news

By admin | January 21, 2011

The organizers of Oya Pancaroglu's talk at SOAS on Tuesday 25 January have regretfully announced that the event has been cancelled.

Posted in Islamic Art, Talks and Lectures

“Architecture on Screen” at the Center for Architecture, New York

By Cornucopia TR | January 21, 2011

For aficionados of Islamic architecture both old and new, this could be interesting. On 28 January, as part of the "Architecture on Screen" selection of highlights from the 28th Montréal International Festival of Films on Art, the Center for Architecture will be showing documentaries concerning the work of two very...

Posted in Film, Islamic Art

“Colours of the Orient, Arts and Lifestyles in the Ottoman Empire” at the Villa Empain, Brussels

By Cornucopia TR | January 18, 2011

If you happen to be in Brussels between now and 27 February, make sure to pay a visit to the Villa Empain, an Art Deco mansion which houses the headquarters of the Boghossian Foundation. Dedicated to promoting dialogue between East and West, the Foundation is currently presenting an exhibition concerned...

Posted in Fine Art, Islamic Art

In Memoriam - Oleg Grabar

By Cornucopia TR | January 10, 2011

Historians of Islamic art across the world were united in grief on hearing of the death of the noted scholar Oleg Grabar on Saturday, 8 January, at his home in Princeton, New Jersey. The author of more than fifty books and countless articles, professor emeritus at the Institute for Advanced...

Posted in Islamic Art

Islamic and Indian Art sale at Bonhams Knightsbridge

By Cornucopia TR | January 5, 2011

On 19 January, Bonhams will be holding an auction of Islamic and Indian art, including thirty lots of contemporary Middle Eastern and South Asian art, at their Knightsbridge branch. Covering a wide range of materials and cultures, ranging from eighth century Persia to modern-day India, via Mamluk Egypt, Ottoman Turkey...

Posted in Contemporary Art, Islamic Art