'Reverent Ornament: Art from the Islamic World' opens at the Columbia Museum of Art

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, March 28, 2024


'Reverent Ornament: Art from the Islamic World' opens at the Columbia Museum of Art
Bowl, 19th century. Egypt or Syria. Brass with silver and copper inlay. Gift of Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma and family. Photo provided.



COLUMBIA, SC.- The Columbia Museum of Art announces featured spring exhibition Reverent Ornament: Art from the Islamic World, on view Saturday, February 18, through Sunday, May 14, 2023. Organized by the Huntington Museum of Art and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C., the exhibition offers some 45 works with which to explore the arts and crafts traditions and scientific innovations of Iran, Egypt, India, Syria, and Turkey from the 10th to the 19th centuries.

What was in Western culture historically considered the Near Eastern world — roughly, a vast stretch of regions including India and the Asian countries to its west — is a vivid patchwork of many different peoples, languages, and traditions, with a history stretching back to Neolithic times. Comprising works of fine glassware, ceramics, metalwork, painting, weaponry, weaving, and much more, Reverent Ornament shares timeless Islamic art that celebrates everyday life, history, and culture.

The works, all of which come from the collection of Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma, include objects meant for palaces as well as ordinary homes, evoking a rich vision of daily life and highlighting the humanism, scientific advancements, artistry, and reverence of the people who used and created them, many of whom belong to groups that have been historically maligned and misrepresented in much of Western culture. While these objects showcase the artistic output of a wide array of societies, they share certain visual commonalities shaped in part by the prevailing cultural and religious practices of Islam and cross-cultural exchange among many dynamic groups.

Though the vast stretch of regions that fall under the umbrella of the “Islamic world” were shaped to some extent by the practice of Islam, the region sometimes called SWANA (South and West Asia and North Africa) has always encompassed vibrant places where people from many religious groups intermingle. It is for this reason that the Toumas chose to include in their collection objects that reflect belief systems outside of the Muslim faith, to include copies of sacred Hindu texts and Christian icons. Such objects, like those for Christian or Jewish patrons, were at times created by Muslim craftspeople, again underscoring the fact that despite their different ways of worship, these groups have more that unites than divides them.

“While the individual pieces are dazzling in their elaborate ornament, the great strength of this exhibition is in its diversity and its power to open minds and reinforce connections,” says CMA Curator of Education Glenna Barlow. “Each of the works on view speaks volumes not only about the culture it came from but the connections between them — universal values of creative exploration, innovation, and reverence that unite us, all in objects that are beautiful to behold.”










Today's News

February 19, 2023

Steve Tobin's Intertwined: Exploring Nature's Networks featured at Houston Botanic Garden

Sotheby's to offer one of Gerhard Richter's greatest monumental abstract masterpieces

Retrospective of the work of Victor Brauner opens at the National Museum of Art Timisoara

Gagosian opens an exhibition of over thirty prints made by Jonas Wood

Kunstmuseum Den Haag opens exhibition of works by Escher and artistic duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

'Reverent Ornament: Art from the Islamic World' opens at the Columbia Museum of Art

François Ghebaly opens an exhibition of works by Kathleen Ryan

Simone Holliger to make her largest institutional presentation in Basel to date at Kunsthaus Baselland

Robert Colescott's 'Miss Liberty' soars over $4 million at Bonhams Post War & Contemporary Art Sale

moCa Cleveland announces 2023 exhibitions and residencies focused on identity, nature, memory, and collaboration

Anna Zorina Gallery brings together a decade of Alexander Kaletski's most notable series of works

RR Auction announces results of The PSA Encapsulated Auction

Rena Gluck, who helped bring modern dance to Israel, dies at 89

Dundee Contemporary Arts announces new Head of Exhibitions

Arthur Simms presents a site-specific solo presentation at San Carlo Cremona

Exhibition at Spencer Museum of Art highlights dynamic parallels between social moments nearly a decade apart

Lisson Gallery, Beijing, Julian Opie features some of his most iconic motifs

Continue This Thread: Karim Adduchi x Tess van Zalinge, new exhibition on the power of crafting

Carlos Museum opens 'A Very Incomplete Self-Portrait: Tom Dorsey's Chicago Portfolio'

"Philippine-Made" explores identity and history, challenges colonialism through community and craft

Friedrich Cerha, 96, who finished another composer's masterpiece, dies

Donald Spoto, biographer of Hitchcock and many more, dies at 81

A big-wave photographer faces frigid water, sharks and currents to get the shot

Christie's to offer "Grands Crus Part III: Finest and Rarest Wines from the Cellar of Christen Sveaas"




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful