Exhibition Dates:
|
April 8–November 3, 2019 |
| Exhibition Location: |
The Met Fifth Avenue, Floor 2,
The Hagop Kevorkian Fund Special Exhibition Gallery,
Gallery 458 |
Calligraphy is often described as the most characteristic expression of the Islamic spirit and a key achievement of Islamic civilization. Throughout the Islamic world, the surfaces of objects large and small, from architecture to items of daily use, have been embellished with calligraphy in styles that range from the elegant, refined, and eminently readable to decorative, abstract, and barely legible.
Opening April 8 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition The Decorated Word: Writing and Picturing in Islamic Calligraphy will examine the interplay between writing and picturing in Islamic calligraphy. The inherent tension between textual design, decoration, readability, and verbal clarity will be explored through some four dozen examples created between the ninth century and the present. All from The Met collection, these objects include works on paper and parchment; ceramics; metalwork and coins; and a carpet.
The exhibition is made possible by The Hagop Kevorkian Fund.
The exhibition is organized thematically, with groupings devoted to the development and variations of Arabic script; the art of the Qur’an; chancellery scripts; and decorative and abstract scripts that illustrate the triumph of form over content. The presentation will end with a selection of modern and contemporary works by artists from Iran and Pakistan who use the written word as their primary mode of artistic expression.
A publication, How to Read Islamic Calligraphy, by Maryam Ekhtiar, accompanies the exhibition. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press, the book is available in The Met Store ($25, paperback).
The exhibition is organized by Maryam Ekhtiar, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art.
The exhibition will be featured on the Museum’s website, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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March 20, 2019
Image: Folio (detail) from the Andalusian "Pink Qur'an" in Maghribi script, ca. 13th century. Spain. Ink, gold, silver and opaque watercolor on paper. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of Islamic Art Gifts, 2017 (2017.232)
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