Arte della civiltà islamica
Subtitle: la collezione al-Sabah, Kuwait : al-Fann
By: a cura di Giovanni Curatola ; schede di Manuel Keene e Salam Kaoukji
Publisher: Skira
Published: 2015
Place of publication: Milano
Language: ita
Number of pages: 341
ISBN-13: 9788857230177
Copyright date: 2015
Subjects: Islamic art; Exhibitions; Art collections; Art; Private collections; Art museums
Other titles: Collezione al-Sabah, Kuwait; al-Fann :
Work titles: Arte della civiltà islamica (2015)
Notes: Catalog of an itinerant exhibition held at the Palazzo Reale, Milan, Italy, October 21, 2010-January 30, 2011; at the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria, March 22-June 19, 2011; at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea, July 1-October 28, 2013; and at the Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Italy, July 25-September 20, 2015.

"Nel luglio del 1975 Sheikh Nasser Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah mostrò a sua moglie, Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah la prima opera d’arte islamica – una splendida bottiglia in vetro smaltato d’epoca mamelucca (Egitto o Siria, XIV secolo) – comprata durante un viaggio. Era l’inizio di un’avventura straordinaria e probabilmente irripetibile fatta di intelligenza, amore, competenza, lungimiranza, curiosità. In otto anni di intenso lavoro, e divertimento, la coppia ha potuto collezionare circa ventimila opere, fra le quali non pochi capolavori, ma anche numerosi oggetti di studio, interessanti perché gettano nuova luce su tecniche e aspetti poco noti perfino agli specialisti, o “intriganti” perché la loro storia segreta era ancora tutta da raccontare. Il 23 febbraio 1983, in occasione della festa nazionale del Kuwait, Sheikh Nasser e Sheikha Hussah offrirono al loro paese l’inestimabile dono del prestito permanente della collezione al Museo Nazionale del Kuwait. Il volume illustra trecento tra le opere più belle, e racconta, a chi si avvicini per la prima volta al mondo islamico, la sua cultura e la sua arte, attraverso tappe cronologiche (dagli inizi ai grandi imperi cinquecenteschi) e tematiche (calligrafia, ornato geometrico, arabeschi e arte figurativa). Infine una sezione dedicata ai gioielli, per i quali la collezione gode di fama mondiale."--Back cover.

"Shaykh Nasr Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah and his wife, Shaykha Hussah Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah have been collecting works of Islamic art and of the art of the Middle East before Islam for forty years, and their collection, comprising some 35.000 items, is unquestionably one of the most important in the world not only in terms of its size but also in terms of the quality and originality of the works of art it contains. To mark Kuwait’s National Day on 23 February 1983, the collection was placed on permanent loan with the Kuwait National Museum, where it remained until the tragic days of the Iraqi invasion in August 1990. The rich and varied Al-Sabah Collection, through over three hundred works, will allow visitors to explore an art that is multi-faceted, rich, elegant, sophisticated and in many ways a true surprise – a challenge to foster dialogue and understanding, and at the same time a discovery of outstanding value. Published on the occasion of the exhibition in Rome, the catalogue documents the crucial artistic themes and modes of Islamic art, ranging from the formal stringency of its mesmerising calligraphy and its learned and scientific exploration of the world of mathematics and geometry, to the endless imagery of the repeated floral motif known as the Arabesque and the abstract and realistic depiction of animal and human figures, thus giving the lie to the false contention that Islam was iconoclastic. The volume ends with the glittering splendour of treasure, in the shape of the (mainly Indian) items of the goldsmith’s art that are the boast of the Al-Sabah Collection, which in terms of the quantity and quality of its pieces in this field is unrivalled anywhere in the world."--Scuderie del Quirinale website.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 339-341).