Islamic Art galleries at The Met

Islamic Art

About Us

The Met's collection of Islamic art ranges in date from the seventh to the twenty-first century. Its more than 15,000 objects reflect the great diversity and range of the cultural traditions of Islam, with works from as far westward as Spain and Morocco and as far eastward as Central Asia and Indonesia. Comprising both sacred and secular objects, the collection reveals the mutual influence of artistic practices such as calligraphy, and the exchange of motifs such as vegetal ornament (the arabesque) and geometric patterning in both realms.

Our History
Archival photo of display cases

Although the Museum acquired some seals and jewelry from Islamic countries as early as 1874, and a number of Turkish textiles in 1879, it received its first major group of Islamic objects in 1891, as a bequest of Edward C. Moore. Since then, the collection has grown through gifts, bequests, and purchases, as well as through Museum-sponsored excavations at Nishapur, Iran, in 1935–39 and in 1947. Until 1932, when the Department of Near Eastern Art was established, all of these objects were overseen by the Department of Decorative Arts. By 1963, the number of objects had increased to a point that necessitated an official departmental division between the Ancient Near Eastern and the Islamic portions of the collection, and the Department of Islamic Art was founded.

In 2011, after an extensive renovation, the Museum opened fifteen dramatic new Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia. The greatly enlarged and freshly conceived galleries highlight both the diversity and the interconnectedness of the numerous cultures represented, with multiple entryways that allow visitors to approach the galleries—and the art displayed within—from different perspectives.

Read more about the rich history of Islamic art at the Museum.


View More Department Info
Fragment of a Kaftan Back, Silk, metal wrapped thread; taqueté (seraser)
mid-16th century
"Men Treading Grapes", Folio from a Materia Medica of Dioscorides, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
dated 621 AH/1224 CE
Brasero, Earthenware; molded, luster-painted on opaque white glaze
late 15th–early 16th century
A Stallion, Habiballah of Sava  Iranian, Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
Habiballah of Sava
ca. 1601–6
Footed Bowl and Plate, Glass, opalescent white; blown, bowl with applied stem and blown applied foot, fired silver and gold decoration
first half 18th century
Tiraz Textile Fragment, Cotton, ink, and gold; plain weave, resist-dyed (ikat), painted<br/>Inscription: black ink and gold leaf; painted
late 9th–early 10th century
Velvet with Figural Imagery, Silk, metal wrapped thread; cut and voided velvet
mid-16th century
Calligraphic Galleon, 'Abd al-Qadir Hisari  Turkish, Ink and gold on paper
'Abd al-Qadir Hisari
dated 1180 AH/1766–67 CE
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