DUSHANBE, December 13, 2011, Asia-Plus — Following eight different exhibitions in Europe that attracted over half a million visitors, a new selection of masterpieces from the Aga Khan Museum collections are on show at the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, from December 9, 2011 to February 26, 2012.
According to press release issued by the Aga Khan Development Network, the exhibition is the first created from the Aga Khan Museum collections to center on architecture in the Islamic World. The exhibition, sponsored by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), has been organized in close cooperation with the Hermitage.
An agreement was signed spelling out future collaboration between The Hermitage and the Aga Khan Museum in areas of mutual interest such as conservation, exchange of technical expertise and exhibitions.
The exhibition is divided into six sections: “Sacred Typographies”, which explores the sites and monuments of Islamic pilgrimage through paintings and drawings; “Religious and Funerary Architecture”, which examines mosques and commemorative shrines; “The Fortress and the City”, which encompasses forts and fortified towns; “The Palace”, which looks at the residences of royal families; “Gardens, Pavilions and Tents”, which discusses the arts of shelter; and “Architecture and the Written Word”, which focuses on architectural spaces contained in miniature painting.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are: a miniature entitled “Emperor Jahangir at the Jharoka Window of the Red Fort in Agra”, painted in 1620 by Nadir a-Zaman, and a folio from the most famous series of paintings in Muslim art, the celebrated Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp; architectural elements like muqarnas and ornamented wood pieces from fifteenth century Spain as well as glazed turquoise earthenware elements from Central Asia; tiled arches from fifteenth century Egypt and ornamental doors from ninth century Iran; sixteenth century Iznik tiles from Turkey and other objects including inkwells, a carpet and a lamp holder.
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is the cultural agency of the Aga Khan Development Network. Through education and cultural initiatives in music and the arts, AKTC aims to highlight the contributions of the Muslim world to global cultural heritage. It also implements programs aimed at the physical and social revitalization of communities with the aim of improving the quality of life and, through its architectural programs, promotes debate about contemporary design problems.
The Aga Khan Museum, due to open in 2013 in Toronto, Canada, will be dedicated to the acquisition, preservation and display of artifacts – from various periods and geographies – relating to the intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious heritage of Islamic communities. It will also house the collections of the members of the family of the Aga Khan.
The Museum collection contains over one thousand artifacts and artworks and spans over one thousand years of history. The objects – in ceramic, metalwork, ivory, stone and wood, textile and carpet, glass and rock crystal objects, parchment and illustrated paintings on paper – present an overview of the artistic accomplishments of Muslim civilizations from the Iberian Peninsula to China.
