All Essays
Islamic Art
Often saved and passed down from generation to generation, wedding dresses are a key means of understanding fashion traditions in different cultures across time and geographies.
Nancy Micklewright
April 1, 2024
As modern-day Turkey marks its hundredth year, The Met’s Department of Islamic Art celebrates Turkish art and culture. A special installation Dialogues: Modern Artists and the Ottoman Past was on view in the Koç Family Galleries 459 and 460 from October 23, 2023 through December 2, 2024.
November 22, 2023
Established in 2019, the Towns of the Karakum project (ToKa) is investigating the landscape and material culture of two walled towns in Turkmenistan.
September 1, 2023
Throughout the centuries the Indian Ocean has served as a transregional network facilitating the circulation of Indian textiles to locations as far away as Southeast Asia, Central and East Asia, and East Africa.
Ayesha U. Shaikh
March 1, 2023
Works of art from the Islamic world are often decorated with beautiful calligraphic inscriptions which can be the key to the meaning and function of the object.
October 25, 2022
From West Africa to Southeast Asia: The History of Muhammad al-Jazuli’s Dala’il al-Khayrat Prayer Book.
July 29, 2022
Stonepaste production expanded significantly in the twelfth century, as witnessed by a substantial increase in production centers; advances in established techniques and the development of new ones, especially underglaze painting; a greater sophistication in decoration; and a more marked stylistic divergence between Syrian and Iranian productions.
Martina Rugiadi
January 1, 2021
Stonepaste—also called fritware or siliceous ware—is made primarily of finely ground quartz obtained from pebbles or sand that is mixed with small amounts of liquefied glass (glass frit or glass fragments) and refined clay for greater malleability and structure.
Martina Rugiadi
January 1, 2021
The coins found at Nishapur reflect the rise and fall of dynasties in the early Islamic period.
Abdullah Ghouchani and Sheila Canby
October 1, 2019
Rather than focusing on religious law, theology, philosophy and other written proscriptions, Sufis understand and experience God by turning inward and experiencing the divine within themselves.
Courtney A. Stewart
October 1, 2018