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3/16/2011 Houston— The Museum of
Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), presents Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts, a major international loan
exhibition which explores Islamic art through the universal tradition of gift giving. Many of the most spectacular and
historically significant examples of Islamic art can be classified as gifts, a number of which will be brought together for the
unique purpose of this exhibition to demonstrate the integral and complex nature of gift exchange in the Islamic world.
Organized by LACMA with support from the MFAH, Gifts of the Sultan spans the eighth through nineteenth centuries. The
MFAH presentation features nearly 200 works of art representing a rich variety of media from collections in America, Europe, and the Middle East. Gifts of the Sultan
opens at LACMA (June 5–September 5, 2011), then travels to the MFAH (October 23, 2011–January 15, 2012).
“Gifts of the Sultan offers a fascinating look
at the way the Islamic world represented itself to „outsiders‟ through the exchange of gifts, whether the purpose was political, personal or pious,” said Gwendolyn H. Goffe, MFAH interim director. “Together this fall with Tutankhamen: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, also opening in October
2011, the MFAH will provide a window into the powerful kingdoms of the ancient Middle East.”
“Because of its global framework, Gifts of the Sultan is the Islamic exhibition of the decade,” said Francesca Leoni, MFAH Islamic Art curator. “The objects span across
geographical regions and time, and unveil segments of shared histories and experiences that have remained largely unappreciated so far.”
Exhibition Overview
Gift giving was a fundamental activity at the great Islamic courts for various purposes: to further diplomatic and political ambitions; as reward for services rendered; to celebrate
annual events like the New Year or more personal occasions such as weddings and birthdays; and as expressions of piety, often associated with the construction or enhancement of religious monuments. Made of rare and precious materials and
commissioned from the best artists and craftsmen of the day, these gifts came in many forms. Gifts of the Sultan brings together a brilliant array of diverse works including silk
carpets and textiles woven with golden thread; jewelry and
objects fashioned of precious metal; containers fashioned of
jade, ivory, or rock crystal; elaborately illustrated manuscripts
and richly illuminated Qur‟ans; enameled and gilded glass;
carved and inlaid wooden furnishings; and jewel-encrusted
arms and armor.
Gifts of the Sultan will show that many works were not
straightforward gifts; rather their gift status is only revealed by
unraveling their life stories, which tell how they were viewed or
received, which was very often beyond the context of their
original creation. The exhibition will also demonstrate the
cross-cultural interactions that took place between Islam and
Byzantium, and with western European and East Asian courts,
as the exchange of luxury objects illustrates a central process by which artistic forms and ideas were circulated, emulated, and assimilated.
Exhibition Organization
Gifts of the Sultan will be organized in three broad sections: personal gifts, pious donations, and state and diplomatic gifts. The first includes more intimate items such as objects of personal adornment in the form of jewelry, belts, and garments; precious yet utilitarian pieces such as vessels of gold, silver, porcelain, and jade; along with paintings, albums, and manuscripts. The second section highlights pious donations, encompassing architectural elements, furnishings, and manuscripts of the Qur‟an that were part of a
religious institution‟s endowment, the endowment deed itself, and works, often of a secular nature, that were specifically gifted to a mosque or shrine. The third and largest
section features works that were made for or kept in royal treasuries, representing a broad array of types and materials ranging from rock crystal pieces and courtly regalia to places
of habitation such as a palace façade or a tent. A full-size silk and gold-embroidered Ottoman field tent presented to Catherine the Great from the Hermitage collection will
provide the focal point of this section.
The exhibition will also include a small contemporary component presenting the work of Sadegh Tirafkan, Shahzia Sikander, and Ahmed Mater. These three innovative artists,
who have roots in the Islamic world and draw inspiration from their own cultural traditions, have been commissioned to produce new work interpreting the theme of Gifts
of the Sultan.
Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), presents Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts, a major international loan
exhibition which explores Islamic art through the universal tradition of gift giving. Many of the most spectacular and
historically significant examples of Islamic art can be classified as gifts, a number of which will be brought together for the
unique purpose of this exhibition to demonstrate the integral and complex nature of gift exchange in the Islamic world.
Organized by LACMA with support from the MFAH, Gifts of the Sultan spans the eighth through nineteenth centuries. The
MFAH presentation features nearly 200 works of art representing a rich variety of media from collections in America, Europe, and the Middle East. Gifts of the Sultan
opens at LACMA (June 5–September 5, 2011), then travels to the MFAH (October 23, 2011–January 15, 2012).
“Gifts of the Sultan offers a fascinating look
at the way the Islamic world represented itself to „outsiders‟ through the exchange of gifts, whether the purpose was political, personal or pious,” said Gwendolyn H. Goffe, MFAH interim director. “Together this fall with Tutankhamen: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs, also opening in October
2011, the MFAH will provide a window into the powerful kingdoms of the ancient Middle East.”
“Because of its global framework, Gifts of the Sultan is the Islamic exhibition of the decade,” said Francesca Leoni, MFAH Islamic Art curator. “The objects span across
geographical regions and time, and unveil segments of shared histories and experiences that have remained largely unappreciated so far.”
Exhibition Overview
Gift giving was a fundamental activity at the great Islamic courts for various purposes: to further diplomatic and political ambitions; as reward for services rendered; to celebrate
annual events like the New Year or more personal occasions such as weddings and birthdays; and as expressions of piety, often associated with the construction or enhancement of religious monuments. Made of rare and precious materials and
commissioned from the best artists and craftsmen of the day, these gifts came in many forms. Gifts of the Sultan brings together a brilliant array of diverse works including silk
carpets and textiles woven with golden thread; jewelry and
objects fashioned of precious metal; containers fashioned of
jade, ivory, or rock crystal; elaborately illustrated manuscripts
and richly illuminated Qur‟ans; enameled and gilded glass;
carved and inlaid wooden furnishings; and jewel-encrusted
arms and armor.
Gifts of the Sultan will show that many works were not
straightforward gifts; rather their gift status is only revealed by
unraveling their life stories, which tell how they were viewed or
received, which was very often beyond the context of their
original creation. The exhibition will also demonstrate the
cross-cultural interactions that took place between Islam and
Byzantium, and with western European and East Asian courts,
as the exchange of luxury objects illustrates a central process by which artistic forms and ideas were circulated, emulated, and assimilated.
Exhibition Organization
Gifts of the Sultan will be organized in three broad sections: personal gifts, pious donations, and state and diplomatic gifts. The first includes more intimate items such as objects of personal adornment in the form of jewelry, belts, and garments; precious yet utilitarian pieces such as vessels of gold, silver, porcelain, and jade; along with paintings, albums, and manuscripts. The second section highlights pious donations, encompassing architectural elements, furnishings, and manuscripts of the Qur‟an that were part of a
religious institution‟s endowment, the endowment deed itself, and works, often of a secular nature, that were specifically gifted to a mosque or shrine. The third and largest
section features works that were made for or kept in royal treasuries, representing a broad array of types and materials ranging from rock crystal pieces and courtly regalia to places
of habitation such as a palace façade or a tent. A full-size silk and gold-embroidered Ottoman field tent presented to Catherine the Great from the Hermitage collection will
provide the focal point of this section.
The exhibition will also include a small contemporary component presenting the work of Sadegh Tirafkan, Shahzia Sikander, and Ahmed Mater. These three innovative artists,
who have roots in the Islamic world and draw inspiration from their own cultural traditions, have been commissioned to produce new work interpreting the theme of Gifts
of the Sultan.
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