Greenwich, Conn. — Americans who want a better understanding of Islamic culture will have a chance to see everything from armor to scientific instruments from the longest-surviving dynastic state in Islamic history.
"Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art From the Khalili Collection," opens Saturday at the Bruce Museum. The traveling ex-hibit, first shown in Portland, Ore., in February, reflects the values the Ottomans placed on science, math and the art of writing.
AP Photos
This drawing of a calligraphic lion by Ahmed Hilmi, dated April 19, 1913, was made with ink on a card and is part of the "Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art From the Khalili Collection," which will be on display starting Saturday at the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science in Greenwich, Conn.
The exhibit, which had more than 90,000 visitors at the Portland Art Museum, has been made more timely by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"I think people are interested to know more about Islam and what the beliefs are," said Peter Sutton, executive director of the Bruce Museum. "More than ever, they would like to understand the people with whom there obviously hasn't been enough understanding."
The exhibit is from the collection of Dr. Nasser D. Khalili, co-founder and chairman of the Maimonides Foundation, which promotes peace and understanding between Jews and Muslims.
The Ottoman reign ran from the late 13th century until 1922. Patronage of the arts and architecture flourished throughout the empire.
"I think it's one of the best collections of Ottoman Turkish art," said Esin Atil, a historian of Islamic art and a curator at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. "It shows the value of learning in the Ottoman societies."
The exhibit, which runs through Jan. 27, is unusual because it spans such a long period of Islamic history, said Robin Garr, director of education at the Bruce Museum.
An iron and steel "War Mask," possibly made for the Akkoyunly in the late 15th century, is part of the "Empire of the Sultans: Ottoman Art From the Khalili Collection."
"I think you get a real good idea of one chapter of Islamic history," Garr said.
"Empire of the Sultans" includes prayer books, imperial decrees, carpets, silver, brass, ceramic and glass objects. Other pieces include illustrations of shrines and towns, elaborate compasses, sundials, mathematical accounts and celestial charts, maps and atlases. It also includes numerous copies of the Quran and calligraphic images of the Quran.
An Ottoman rug, created in Cairo in the late 16th or early 17th century, will be on display. Domestic items include coffee pots, incense burners, a ladle and a scent dropper.
Islamic art is typically contemplative and peaceful, said Stefano Carboni, associate curator of Islamic art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, which has current shows of Islamic glass and jewelry.
"The American public has a very vague concept of the Islamic world, often a negative one," said Carboni, who plans to speak during the lecture series. "I want the public to realize there is a lot of good, from the artistic point of view, coming out of this part of the world."
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