presented in a separate small room, showing pages from the Holy
Qur'an, dating back to the first three centuries of the Islamic
period. It also contains an early dated Qur'an written on parchment,
dating to 393AH/AD1002. Later examples display calligraphic panels.,
inscriptions which were cut, or in brail script.
A collection of Holy Qur'ans from small to large examples.
A treatise of the 9th century scholar al-kindi on optics.
A page fragment from the timurid Prince Baysunqur's Qur'an.
Pottery
The pottery section presents the full history of this art form,
starting from pre-Islamic time up to the 19th century. So far the only
known dated piece of this type of pottery. It is decorated with a
beautiful written kuffic inscription, giving a quotation from the the
Holy Qur'an. So far the earliest known ceramic object with a Quranic
inscription.
Metal Work
The large selection of metalwork on display includes objects from the
Umayyad period onward. Among them a 7th - 8th century AD bronze ewer,
and an early incense burner. Seljuq, Ghaznavid and Ghurid period
metalwork is well represented by ewers, flasks, oil-lamps and incense-
burners. Of the later periods several bowls, ewers and trays are
shown.
Glass Work
Islamic glass of the early periods are demonstrated by a number of
vessels, including perfume flasks, medicine bottles and beakers. Some
of these have cut, others applique or trailed decoration. The ivory
carvings include an indian musical instrument, a so-called "Sarinda",
pen-boxes and another musical instrument from ottoman Turkey, a
Kemence.
Jade
The exhibited jades are all from Mughal India and date from the 17th
and 18th centuries, including an extremely rare red and white jade as
well.
Arms and Armour
The arms and armour is shown in several display cabinets and one room
is specially dedicated to the swords and daggers of the Near and
Middle East. There is also a special and extremely rare object, a
ceremonial shield, carved out of buffalo hide, made at Ahmadabad in
India during the 16th century.
Lacquer work
Islamic lacquerwork is presented in a special cabinet and it includes
a 14h Mamluk box, a late 14th or early 15th century Qur'an stand, or
Rahla, a signed and dated Kashmir mirror-case and many Qajar pen-boxes
and mirror-cases.
SECTION B
This part of the Museum deals with the costumes, textiles,
embroideries and jewellery of the Islamic world, but also includes
relevent objects from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan.
The objects are exhibited in the following order:
The gulf countries: Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman
and the Yemen.
The exibited objects include jewellery, costumes and textiles of these
countries. This is followed by a detailed display of folk jewellery of
other near and Middle Eastern countries and also of India, Nepal,
Tibet and Bhutan.
The collection is particularly rich in Syrian and Palestinian
costumes, while its folk jewellery is perhaps one of the richest and
largest in the world.
In both sections of the museum there are large numbers of swords,
daggers, some old Islamic fire-arms and gun-powder holders.
Likewise, an outstanding collection of musical instruments from almost
every part of the Oriental world are exhibited.
There is a special collection of jewellery, which once, so it is
claimed, belonged to the last Emir of Bukhara.
The Living Art Museum
The Living Art Museum owns a very large collection of art and source
material, donated by members of the Living Art Museum Association and
others. When the museum was founded, a provision was incorporated in
its Organization Charter, stipulating that its members would donate
one work upon joining the Association and subsequently every few
years. These provisions have not been strictly observed, as it soon
became evident that storage space, as well as funds for the
preservation and maintenance of the art collection were insufficient.
Furthermore, one of the main objectives of the Living Art Museum, that
of collecting contemporary art, has encouraged the official/state-
owned art museums to pay more attention to contemporary art.
Nevertheless, the Living Art Museum owns a fairly extensive art
collection and has succeeded in preserving a unique part of Iceland's
art history. For example, the Museum owns the largest artists books
collection in the country, one of the world's largest collections of
the work of German-Swiss artist Dieter Roth, as well as works by most
members of the SЪM Group, Jуn Gunnar Бrnason, Magnъs Pбlsson, Hreinn
Friрfinnsson, the brothers Sigurрur Guрmundsson and Kristjбn
Guрmundsson, Rуska, Arnar Herbertsson, Magnъs Tуmasson, Gylfi
GIacute;slason, Sigurjуn Jуhannsson, Hildur Hбkonardуttir and
Guрbergur Bergsson.
The Museum owns works by many of the nation's best-known younger
artists and the collection is growing steadily. The collection also
includes works by some 50 foreign artists, such as Joseph Beuys,
Pieter Holstein, Richard Hamilton, Dorothy Iannone, Jan Voss, Wolf
Vostell, Douwe Jan Bakker, Emmet Williams, Robert Filiou, Nini Tang,
Peter Angermann, John Armleder, Geoffrey Hendriks, Jan Knap, Alan
Johnston, Peter Mцnning, Bengt Adlers and Franz Graf.
All works of art in the Museum's possession are selected by the
artists themselves and not by specialists of art institutions. A
catalogue of the art collection of the Living Art Museum is accessible
on a digital database.
The Prince of Wales Museum of West India
In the early years of the twentieth century, some prominent citizens of
Bombay decided to set up a Museum with the help of the government to
commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales. One of the resolutions of the
committee at its meeting on June 22, 1904 was, "The building should have a
handsome and noble structure befitting the site selected, and in keeping
with the best style of local architecture."
The committee spared no effort to realize this dream. On March 1, 1907, the
then government of Bombay handed over to the museum committee a spot of
land known as the "Crescent Site", situated at the southern end of the
present Mahatma Gandhi Road. After an open competition for the design,
George Wittet was commissioned to design the Museum building in 1909.
George Wittet had collaborated with John Begg in the construction of the
General Post Office building. His other works in Bombay include the Court
of Small Causes and the magnificent Gateway of India.
The National Museum of History (Brazil)
The National Museum of History, pertaining to the Ministry of Culture,
created in 1922, is one of the most important museums in Brazil with
287.000 items that include the largest numismatic collection in Latin
America.
The architectural complex where the museum is situated had its origin in
the Santiago Fort, located at the former Calaboose Point, one of the
strategic points for the defense of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
The National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada, a visual arts museum of international
stature, holds its collections of art in trust for all Canadians. The
mandate of the National gallery, as set out in the 1990 Museums Act is: to
develop, maintain and make known, throughout Canada and internationally, a
national collection of works of art, historic and contemporary, with
special but not exclusive reference to Canada; and to further knowledge,
understanding and enjoyment of art in general among all Canadians.
The Museum of Moroccan Arts
The imposing silhouette of the Dar el Makhzen dominates the Tangier kasbah.
Formerly the governor's palace, it was built in the XVIIth century and is
laid out around a splendid patio decorated with enamelled faience.
The Museum of Moroccan Arts is housed in the prince's apartments which are
indeed princely: painted wooden ceilings, sculpted plaster work and
mosaics, all of them exquisite.
A worthy setting for works of art from all over Morocco, which are honoured
as prestigious ambassadors of their regions.
The north is represented by firearms decorated with marquetry and its
pottery bearing subtle motifs of flowers or feathers, while from Rabat come
the shimmering carpets with their characteristic central medallion...
the Fez room is quite dazzling... silks with their subtly shifting
highlights, superbly bound illuminated manuscripts with the finest
calligraphy, centuries-old dishes decorated in the most brilliant colours,
from golden yellow right through the famous "Fez blue".
From the miniscule to the monumental, the Moroccan Museum of Arts is an
entire universe of beauty.
Albany museum
The Albany Museum is a provincial museum funded by the Department of Sport
Art and Culture of the Eastern Cape and is an affiliated research institute
of Rhodes University. The Museum today consists of a family of six
buildings which includes the Natural Sciences Museum, the History Museum,
the Observatory Museum, Fort Selwyn, the Old Provost military prison and
the Drostdy Arch.
The Albany Museum, the second oldest museum in southern Africa, was founded
on 11 September 1855, growing out of the Graham's Town Medical-Chirugical
Society (later called the Literary, Scientific and Medical Society).
Between 1859 and 1882 the Town Clerk of Grahamstown, Mr Glanville, served
as the first Curator and he was succeeded by his daughter, Miss Mary
Glanville until 1895 when Dr Selmar Schonland became the first director of
the Museum. Initially the Museum was housed in several small facilities
around Grahamstown, including the top floor of the City Hall, before moving
to its permanent home in Somerset Street in 1902. This building now houses
the core block of the present Natural Sciences Museum.
With Dr Schonland, came the historic ties which the Museum has with Rhodes
University. In 1902 he addressed the Cape Parliament, speaking for the
establishment of a university in Grahamstown, and persuaded the trustees of
Cecil Rhodes's estate to pledge funds for the establishment of Rhodes
University College. When the College was established in 1904 Dr Schonland
became its first professor of Botany. In 1910 Dr Schonland was succeeded as
director by Dr John Hewitt.
John Hewitt's research lay in the fields of vertebrate zoology and
archaeology. He undertook archaeological excavations at the Wilton and
Howison's Poort type sites. During this period Grahamstown's long-standing
affair with fishes started. In 1930 Dr J.L.B. Smith, Senior Lecturer in
Chemistry at Rhodes, identified and catalogued the Museum's marine fish
collection. The following year Mr Rex Jubb sent the first small collection
of freshwater fishes from Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to the Museum.
On the 6th September 1941 the Museum suffered a devastating fire with a
great loss of exhibited material. Fortunately the library and most of the
research collections were saved. In 1952 the Museum's collection of fishes
was loaned to the University's Department of Ichthyology. Three years later
the Museum celebrated its centenary and, in 1957, its staff became
Provincial employees.
Dr John Hewitt retired the following year, and was succeeded by Dr Tom H.
Barry. During Dr Barry's tenure of five years the Hewitt and Rennie Wings
were added to the Natural Sciences Museum and the 1820 Settlers Memorial
Museum (now called the History Museum) was built.
The period between 1965 and 1977, the directorship of Mr C.F. Jacot
Guillarmod, was one of consolidation. The National Collection of Freshwater
Organisms was transferred from the CSIR to the Museum. The Early Stone Age
site at Amanzi was excavated and re-excavations were done at Wilton and
Howison's Poort. Fort Selwyn was restored by the Cape Provincial authority
and handed over to the Museum in 1977.
In 1977 Mr Jacot Guillarmod was succeeded by Mr Brian Wilmot and it was at
this time that the Museum entered a new period of growth. De Beers
Consolidated Mines Limited purchased and restored the Observatory and the
Priest's House and donated them to the Museum. The Old Provost military
prison was restored by the Cape Province.
The freshwater fish collections of the Transvaal and Cape Nature
Conservation authorities, the Natal Museum and the South African Museum
were transferred to the Albany Museum (the latter two on loan) making it
the largest collection in southern Africa. Museum staff started teaching
short courses at the University and, in 1983, the Museum became an
Affiliated Research Institute of Rhodes University. The close relationship
with the University was expanded with the consolidation of the herbaria of
the two institutions and the formation of the Selmar Schonland Herbarium,
housed in the Natural Sciences Museum.
