Private Collectors of Islamic Art in Late Nineteenth-Century London

Private Collectors of Islamic Art in Late Nineteenth-Century London

Author: Isabelle Gadoin

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-09

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1000437000

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This book examines British collectors of so-called Persian art (a broad umbrella term then covering a large portion of Islamic art) in the late 19th century, including ceramics, metalwork, carpets, textiles and woodwork. Based on a foundational event, the very first exhibition of “Persian and Arab Art” held by a London Gentlemen’s Club in 1885, this book follows one generation of men, retracing the subtle shades of difference among “amateurs,” “connoisseurs,” “experts” and “collectors,” and exploring all the mechanisms of the construction of a collective fascination for the Orient. Isabelle Gadoin uncovers some of the first “scientific” analyses of Islamic objects and of the first private notebooks or exhibition catalogues, to provide an in-depth study of the way Westerners talked about Islamic objects and began to define what would become Islamic art history. All the while, Gadoin unravels the skein of Western prejudice, Romantic fancy, sincere admiration and ruthless appropriation, in art collecting, to write a new chapter of Orientalist history. The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, history of collecting, colonialism and postcolonialism, and Orientalism.


After One Hundred Years

After One Hundred Years

Author: Andrea Lermer

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2010-08-23

Total Pages: 452

ISBN-13: 900419102X

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The exhibition "Meisterwerke muhammedanischer Kunst" that took place in Munich in 1910 marked a turning point in the approach to Islamic Art. The show attempted to break free of Orientalism and exotic fantasies and, in doing so, set a new standard for the reception of Islamic art in Europe. Moreover, naming the Islamic artefacts masterpieces, it layed claim to bestow upon Islamic art “a place equal to that of other cultural periods”. This book is the first comprehensive study on this path-breaking exhibition. It includes a wealth of unpublished material and numerous novel ideas on the subject and addresses the exhibition’s historical context, organization, realization and display as well as its reception in the West and its later influence on the study of Islamic art.