Local Exhibitions
Temples and Kings: The Ancient East Before The Advent of Islam
16 May 2004 – 16 June 2005
College of Social Studies, Kuwait University
Kuwait
This exhibition of pre-Islamic metalwork was created for the visit of an important Iranian delegation led by Dr. Attallah Muhajirani. The 55 metal objects displayed represented the different cultures that inhabited the region prior to Islam. The land between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates witnessed a flowering of artistic expression, centred mainly on devotion to the gods and the power of the kings. This exhibition hints at the impact Mesopotamia had on surrounding cultures from the 4th millennium BC to the emergence of Islam in the mid-7th century.
Flowers from the Ashes
14 April – 31 May 1993
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum
Kuwait
In honour of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush’s visit to Kuwait in 1993, two years after the liberation of Kuwait, DAI launched an exhibition featuring highlights of The al-Sabah Collection. The 116 objects selected for Flowers from the Ashes, including calligraphy, ceramics, glass, hardstone, ivory, jewellery, metal, manuscripts, rugs, stones, textiles and wood, were displayed in the smouldered remains of the Kuwait National Museum.
Variety in Unity
January 1987, on the occasion of the Fifth Islamic Summit
Bayan Palace
Kuwait
Held on the occasion of the Fifth Islamic Summit in Kuwait and by the invitation of the late Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, this exhibition featured a diverse selection of 209 objects in Bayan Palace for the summit. The chosen objects included calligraphy, ceramics, glass, hardstone, jewellery, leather, manuscripts, metal, numismatics and stone.
Science in Islam
27 November 1984, on the occasion of the Fifth Summit Conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Kuwait National Museum
Kuwait
The exhibition paid homage to the great Arab Islamic civilization through its 27 objects of metal, manuscripts and wood. It was divided into sections, each of which dealt with a special field of science: astronomy, mechanics, geography, medicine, botany and zoology. Both instruments and manuscripts were used to represent each of these disciplines. The objects were chosen to reveal scientific and artistic value, a mélange that enhanced the perfect blend between art and science.
Travelling Exhibitions
Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals
16 May 2001 – 30 May 2010
Considered one of the most comprehensive and richest collections of jewelled arts from the Mughal Empire in the world, Treasury of the World was inaugurated at the British Museum in London on 16 May 2001. It then moved to the USA where it was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio; the Fine Arts Museum, Houston, Texas; and the St. Louis Museum of Art, Missouri.
Islamic Art and Patronage
31 October 2008 – 28 February 2009
6 August 1990 – 22 June 2003
A comprehensive exhibition that featured objects of different mediums from the Islamic World. This exhibition travelled to the most prestigious museums in the world for 14 years.
Zarabi Carpets: Reflection of an Ideal World
17 April – 17 July 1999
Islamic Arts Museum
Malaysia
This exhibition was created for the opening of the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, founded by the AlBukhary Foundation. The title of the exhibition, Zarabi, is the beautiful word used for “carpet” in the Holy Qur’an. The special nature of the word mirrors the special nature of the carpets included in this exhibition.
Carpet weaving, while restricted geographically to areas in the Islamic world with temperate climates and grazing land, is found on all levels of society and all levels of artistic production, and carpets themselves are not only created but consumed, on all societal levels. Thus, this exhibition reflects the broadest possible geographic and social elements of the Islamic world. This was also evident in the catalogue authored by Professor Walter Denny that accompanied the exhibition.
The featured items range chronologically from the 15th to the 19th centuries and geographically from North Africa to India. Some of the items exhibited came from the centres of carpet production in Turkey and Iran; others were created during the golden age of Mughal India. Finally, the work of weavers from Mamluk Egypt and North Africa are also represented.
Kuwait History and Culture
14 December 1987 – 6 January 1988, for Bahrain National Day
Bab al-Bahrain Exhibition Hall
Bahrain
On the National Day of Bahrain in 1988, DAI inaugurated an exhibition titled Kuwait History and Culture. The first exhibition to be held outside Kuwait, featured 101 objects including ceramics, glass, leather, manuscripts and numismatics.
Loans
23 October 2011 – 15 January 2012 The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Houston, TX
India’s Fabled City: The Art of Courtly Lucknow 12 December 2010 – 27 February 2011 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, CA
6 April – 11 July 2011 Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet Paris, France
Beyond Boundaries: Islamic Art across Cultures 22 November 2008 – 22 February 2009 Qatar Museum of Islamic Art Doha, Qatar
Frederick II of Hohenstaufen 10 February – 15 June 2008 Landesmuseum fur Natur und Mensch (State Museum for Nature and Mankind) Oldenburg, Germany
Le Chant du Monde – L’art de L’Iran Safavide, 1501 – 1736 1 October 2007 – 7 January 2008 Louvre Museum Paris, France
Saladin Und Die Kreuzfahrer (Saladin and the Crusaders) 5 March– 2 July 2006 Landes Museum Natur Und Mensch Oldenburg, Germany
30 March – 4 November 2007 Schallaburg Castle Vienna, Austria
Bellini and the East 1 December 2005 – 12 April 2006 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Boston, MA, USA
12 April – 26 June 2006 The National Gallery London, UK
Diamonds 9 July – 23 November 2005 Natural History Museum London, UK
Legacy of Genghis Khan 28 October 2002 – 16 February 2003 Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, NY, USA
13 April – 27 July 2003 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, California, USA
Pearls 13 October 2001 – 14 April 2002 American Museum of Natural History New York, NY, USA
28 June 2002 – 5 January 2003 The Field Museum Chicago, IL, USA
12 December 2006 – 24 January 2007 Abu Dhabi International Pearl Festival Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Adventures of Hamza 28 June – 21 October 2003 Rietberg Museum Zurich, Switzerland
1 November 2002 – 26 January 2003 Brooklyn Museum of Art New York, USA
15 March 2003 – 8 June 2003 Royal Academy of Arts London, UK
21 June 2002 – 30 September 2002 Arthur M Sackler Gallery Washington, USA
1 October 2001 – 13 January 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, USA[/one_half]
Les Andalousies De Damas A Cardoue 2001 L’Institut du Monde Arabe Paris, France
3 May 2001 – 30 September 2001 Archaeological Site of Ma dinat Al-Zahra Cordoba, Spain
24 May 2001 – 3 September 2001 The Corning Museum of Glass Corning, USA
Africa: The Art of a Continent 5 October 1995 – 28 January 1996 Royal Academy of Arts London, UK
28 February 1996 – 30 April 1996 Martin Gropius Bau Berlin, Germany
Romance of the Taj Mahal 10 January 1991 – 17 March 1991 Asia Society New York, USA
23 August 1990 – 25 November 1990 Virginia Museum of Fine Art Richmond, USA
29 April 1990 – 24 June 1990 Toledo Museum of Art Toledo, USA
17 December 1989 – 11 April 1990 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, USA
Timur and the Princely Vision 13 August 1989 – 5 November 1989 Los Angeles County Museum of Art Los Angeles, USA
16 April 1989 – 6 July 1989 Arthur M Sackler Gallery Washington, USA
Les Premières Publications Européennes sur la Civilisation Islamique & Arabe 1989 Institut du Monde Arabe Paris, France
The Age of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent 4 October 1987 – 17 January 1988 The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, USA
14 June 1987 – 7 September 1987 The Art Institute of Chicago Chicago, USA
15 January 1987 – 17 May 1987 National Gallery of Art Washington, USA
India, Art and Culture 1300 – 1900 14 September 1985 – 5 January 1986 The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, USA
Treasures of Islam 25 June 1985 – 27 October 1985 Musée Rath Geneva, Switzerland
Renaissance of Islam: Art of the Mamluks 1 November 1981 – 1 January 1982 The Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, USA
