The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts

Opening Saturday, October 22, 2016, at the Smithsonian Institution is The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, an international loan exhibition featuring some fifty of the most sumptuous Qur’ans from Herat to Istanbul. Celebrated for their superb calligraphy and lavish illumination, these manuscripts—which range in date from the early eighth to the seventeenth century—are critical to the history of the arts of the book. They were once the prized possessions of Ottoman sultans and the ruling elite, who donated their Qur’ans to various institutions to express their personal piety and secure political power. Each manuscript tells a unique story, which will be explored in this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition. Curated by Dr. Massumeh Farhad, the exhibition runs at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery from October 22, 2016 through February 20, 2017, with an opening gala reception on October 19.