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All Essays

Islamic Art
Series
Image shows the top half of an Ottoman wedding dress known as a bindalli, made of purple velvet with gold embroidery and set against a gray background.
Ottoman Wedding Dresses, East to West
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
Gallery view of the installation, Dialogues: Modern Artists and the Ottoman Past, in the Koç Family Galleries - Carpets, Textiles and the Greater Ottoman World and Arts of the Ottoman Court (14th–20th centuries) depicting a central glass case with Ottoman ceramics in the foreground, and wall cases, carpets and textiles, and modern artworks on the walls in the background
Dialogues: Modern Artists and the Ottoman Past
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
Aerial view of an excavation
Towns of the Karakum Archaeological Project
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
A plain-woven, block-printed, cotton textile fragment.
Made in India, Found in Egypt: Red Sea Textile Trade in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
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
Detail of a calligraphic emblem decorated with flowers
Speaking Objects From the World of Islam
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
A medieval manuscript richly illustrated with detailed decorative elements in ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper.
Dala'il al-Khayrat Prayer Book

From West Africa to Southeast Asia: The History of Muhammad al-Jazuli’s Dala’il al-Khayrat Prayer Book.

July 29, 2022
Turquoise Bowl with Lute Player
Ceramic Technology in the Seljuq Period: Stonepaste in Syria and Iran in the Twelfth and Early Thirteenth Centuries
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
Depiction of a bird on a stonepaste ceramic dish
Ceramic Technology in the Seljuq Period: Stonepaste in Syria and Iran in the Eleventh Century
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 Met Fifth facade
Rare Coins from Nishapur
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
The Met Fifth facade
Art of the Sufis
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