Under the title, ‘Wondrous Worlds: Art & Islam through Time & Place’, Oklahoma’s most extensive exhibition on Islamic Art will be open for public on June 23 at Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Tulsa World reported on June 16.
“The exhibition will represent more than 1,200 years of artistic creation, illustrating the great geographic expanse of the Islamic World and reflecting the faith, cultures, artistic traditions and everyday lives of Muslims across history and place,” announced the organizer Newark (N.J.) Museum.
The five themes of the exhibit will be architecture, hospitality, clothing, the art of writing and cross-cultural exchange.
It will allow visitors to discover objects made from a wide variety of materials including ornately decorated clothing and textiles, elaborate jewelry and metalwork, and ornamented ceramics and furniture.
You’ll be also able to see contemporary sculpture, photographs and paintings show how artists today are exploring historic traditions to create innovative new work.
“The artifacts will include objects from Southeast Asia and East and West Africa together with masterpieces from the Middle East, North Africa and India, all highlighting the deep diversity and global impact of Islamic art,” an organizer informed.
Historically, early development of Islamic art was influenced by Roman art, early Christian Byzantine art, and Sassanian art, with later influences from Central Asian nomadic traditions. Egyptian and Chinese art had a formative influence on Islamic architecture, painting, pottery, and textiles.
The similarities between art produced at widely different times and places in the countries of the Islamic World, especially in the Islamic Golden Age, have been sufficient to keep the term in wide use by scholars.
According to the Pew Research Center, the majority of Oklahoma’s religious adherents are Christian, accounting for about 80%. On the other hand, Islam represents less than 0.9% of the total population of the state.