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Islamic World
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has embarked on a major initiative to study and exhibit the arts of the Islamic world.
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Arts of the Islamic World
The MFAH is home to the only gallery in the Southern United States dedicated to the arts and culture of the Islamic world.
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The Islamic era began in the year 622 A.D. with the hijra (migration) of the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina. Within less than two centuries of the Prophet´s death in 632, the religion he founded—Islam—had spread to territories stretching from Spain in the West to Afghanistan and North India in the East. Civilizations of very different religious, cultural, and artistic backgrounds were thus united under the single banner of Islam. A few centuries later, sizeable Muslim communities had been established in an even wider area of the Old World, from sub-Saharan Africa across the Indian Ocean to Southeast Asia, and from there north through China.
The foundations of Islamic art were laid upon the rich artistic traditions inherited from the empires with which Islam came into contact, primarily Byzantium in the West and Sasanian Iran in the East. These styles were quickly adapted to the needs of the new faith and modeled to comply with its religious and philosophical ideas. By the end of the 8th century to the beginning of the 9th, this art form—generally referred to as "Islamic art"—had developed into a more recognizable style with a set of recurrent characteristics, among which are a wide use of calligraphy and a penchant for an abstract decorative language.
The term "Islamic art" applies first of all to the art produced by Muslim artists for Muslim patrons, although there are numerous works produced by, or for, non-Muslims that fall in the same category. At the same time, "Islamic" does not imply that the art is exclusively religious in content or use: much of Islamic art remains secular in nature and covers a multitude of subjects, ranging from architecture to the arts of the book and the decorative arts, including glass, metalwork, jewelry, carpets, textiles, ceramics, and woodwork.
In 2007, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, embarked on a major initiative to collect and exhibit the diversity of styles, forms, and media characterizing the Islamic artistic tradition. Contributions from generous Houstonians enabled the MFAH to purchase seven works of the highest quality and to hire a curator devoted exclusively to this field. Additionally, the MFAH opened a permanent gallery, the only one in the state of Texas and the Southern United States dedicated to Islamic artifacts. Located in the Law Building, this gallery showcases works from the museum´s growing permanent collection as well as temporary loans. Educational programs, lectures, and traveling exhibitions complete the range of offerings that make Houston a preeminent center in the United States for the study and appreciation of Islamic art and culture.
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