17 December 2007 – 14 May 2008

L’Art Islamique dans la Collection Calouste Gulbenkian

After the presentation in 2004 at the Abu Dhabi Cultural Foundation and in 2006 at the Bait Al Zubair Museum in Oman, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, with the support of its subsidiary Partex Oil and Gas (Holdings) Corporation, presents at the Palais de la Culture in Algiers, on the 17 December, a group of fifty art pieces from several areas of Islamic Art between the late 12th and early 20th century. The selected pieces not only document the artistic production from the represented peoples but also the refined taste of Calouste Gulbenkian.

The selected works are presented in different sections: ceramics from Seljuk Persia, Syria and Ottoman Turkey; a mosque lamp in enamelled glass from the Mamluk period; a group of illuminated manuscripts and bindings from Safavid and Qajar Persia; examples of the art of the book from Ottoman Turkey, and lacquered objects from Qajar Persia.

Included in the decorative arts section, the exhibition comprises also a group of carpets produced in Safavid Persia and Ottoman Turkey and a set of sophisticated silks and velvets made in Persia, India, Turkey and Central Asia.

A profusely illustrated catalogue accompanies this exhibition with texts written by the museum curators Maria Fernanda Passos Leite and Maria Queiroz Ribeiro (French and Arabic editions).

Address

Museu Calouste Gulbenkian
Av. de Berna, 45A
1067-001 Lisboa
phone +35 1 217 82 34 69
http://www.museu.gulbenkian.pt

Opening Hours

Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5.45 p.m., closed on Monday and on the following holidays:
January 1, Easter Sunday, May 1,
and December 25

Description of the Museum

The permanent exhibition galleries are distributed in chronological and geographical order to create two independent circuits within the overall tour.
The first circuit highlights Oriental and Classical Art on display in the Egyptian, Greco-Roman, Mesopotamian, Eastern Islamic, Armenian and Far Eastern Art. The second covers European Art with sections dedicated to the Art of the Book, Sculpture, Painting and the Decorative Arts particularly 18th century French art and the work of René Lalique.
In this circuit a wide-ranging number of pieces reflect various European artistic trends from the beginning of the 11th century to the mid-20th century.
The section begins with work in ivory and illuminated manuscript books, followed by a selection of 15th, 16th and 17th century sculptures and paintings. Renaissance art produced in Flanders, France and Italy is on display in the next room. French 18th century decorative arts have a special place in the museum with outstanding gold and silver objects and furniture, as well as paintings and sculptures. These decorative arts are followed by galleries exhibiting a group of paintings by the Venetian Francesco Guardi, 18th and 19th century English paintings, and finally a superb collection of jewels and glass by René Lalique, displayed in its own room.

Within 10 days
starting exhibitions
ending exhibitions