Museum's designs on Islamic art

Sunday, 12 December 2004

Palace and Mosque by Tim Stanley ... V&A Publications England may be one of the last places you would look for Islamic art, but the London's Victoria and Albert Museum houses one of the finest collections in the world.

When the showcase for applied and decorative arts was founded in 1852, many British designers were looking for new inspiration and art from the Islamic world was much admired.

The techniques and designs were seen as a potential source for improving design in the UK and Islamic objects from the Middle East were among the museum's first acquisitions.

At the same time private collectors were amassing their own Islamic ceramics, silks, carpets, metalwork, glass and manuscripts and many of these have since been acquired by the V&A.

Now the museum is gearing up to display its collection in even greater splendour, with the opening of the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Art in 2006 and this book has been issued to mark the occasion.

It is exquisitely illustrated with full colour pictures of many of the most important items in the collection, from items of religious significance such as astrolabes, which enabled devotees to establish the direction of Mecca by examining the stars, to lush silks and carpets.

The photographs alone make the book well worth picking up, but it is the commentary which really draws you in.

For art and religious historians this is essential reading, but even the casual reader will find the insights into the development of Islamic art of great interest.

Stanley and his contributors set every piece in context, providing a thought-provoking examination of how the various aspects of art in the Middle East have been influenced by the historical and cultural changes which took place over the centuries.

Indeed it has made me look at the Islamic architecture and artefacts around Bahrain with new eyes and a greater understanding.

Sadly it offers little information on how the collection and Islamic art in general influenced Western design, but perhaps that's the subject of another book... Palace and Mosque is available to order through Bahrain book shops and the Internet, priced £30 (BD22).