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-{"01ed0e00-4aed-5afc-bdea-937514669d4b":{"name":"Victoria and Albert Museum","description":"The Victoria and Albert (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art and design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. When the museum opened to the public in 1852, its mission was to reform design by making works of art available to all, improving the public’s understanding of the subject and providing inspiration for designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world.  \n  \nThe V&A comprises a family of sites, including the V&A in South Kensington, Young V&A located in Bethnal Green, V&A Dundee in Scotland, the V&A Wedgwood Collection housed in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shekou, China, and opening in 2024/25 will be V&A East located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. Across these sites the museum showcases their collections to a wide range of audiences and aims to champion design and creativity in all its forms.  \n  \nThe V&A has specialised in collecting art and design from the Islamic world since the 1850s, and it was the first institution in the world to collect Islamic art in a systematic fashion. The museum's founders believed that Islamic ideas about structuring patterns and matching decoration to shape and function could improve British design. The collection grew to become the most significant in its field. Outstanding works include the AH 10th / AD 16th-century Ardabil carpet from Iran, a rock crystal ewer from AH 5th / AD 11th-century Egypt, and the world’s greatest collections of Islamic ceramics. The museum also houses the national collection of Islamic textiles.","city":"London","address":"Cromwell Road  \nSouth Kensington  \nSW7 2RL  \nLondon  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.vam.ac.uk","phone":"+44 207 9422000"},"05962a8b-bfa0-546b-b0fe-325dd90488cc":{"name":"Vehbi Koç Foundation Sadberk Hanim Museum","description":"Sadberk Hanım Museum opened in October 1980 as Turkey’s first private museum, established by the Vehbi Koç Foundation to exhibit the collection of Sadberk Koç, the wife of Vehbi Koç. Today the museum holds over 18,000 items in its Turkish Islamic and archaeological collections. The museum gives priority to outstanding examples of Ottoman period works. In particular, its collections of İznik tiles and ceramics and Ottoman period women’s costume and embroidery rank among the best in the world. The collections of Anatolian and Turkish objects are arranged chronologically, from 6,000 BC to the present day.  \n  \nAs well as archaeological and early Islamic items, the museum collects the finest examples of works of art ranging from calligraphy to silk fabrics produced over the six centuries of the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Piyasa Caddesi, 25-29  \nBüyükdere Sarıyer  \n34453 Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"www.sadberkhanimmuzesi.org.tr","phone":"+90 212 242 38 13 / 14","email":"shm@biri.com.tr"},"08da2b05-a4ee-59f0-8585-a9431321460e":{"name":"Larache Archaeological Museum","description":"Kindly note that the Larache Archaeological Museum has been closed and all its artefacts have been moved to:  \n  \nCasbah Museum (Tangier)  \nAl-Kasbah, Tangier  \nConservator: Abdelaziz El Idrissi  \nT: +212 539 932 097  \nM: +212 (0) 675 271 922  \n  \nThe following is an older article referring to the when the Larache Archaeological Museum was operational.  \n  \nLocated on Dar el-Makhzen Square near the old city wall, Borj al-Yahoudi was renovated in 1978 as a museum of the city of Larache. The museum exhibits only archaeological objects excavated from the Lixus site, about four kilometres from the Loukkos River harbour.  \n  \nThe first section displays the pieces chronologically; a second room, on the ground floor, is arranged in order of category: religious life, mythology, architecture, jewellery and ceramics.  \n  \nThe chronology is as follows:  \n  \n**The Phoenician Period**  \nAlthough archaeological data from the period is scarce, the museum’s collection (a sphinx, ostrich eggs, jewellery – including the famous gold earring of the goddess Tanit) is evidence of the existence of commercial trade at the port of Lixus.  \n  \n**The Punic Period**  \nAmphorae, imported ceramics and common pottery show the engagement of Lixus in the major Mediterranean trading routes.  \n  \n**The Mauritanian Period**  \nThe collections of amphorae, perfume containers, imported ceramics and copies of bronze works date to this era of intense commercial activity and urban expansion.  \n  \n**The Roman Period**  \nRoman-era archaeological objects occupy a vast area and reveal the flourishing of Lixus under Roman colonisation, from the reign of Claude (AD 1st century) until the Romans abandoned the city (AD 5th century). Included are ceramic utensils imported from Italy, Spain and southern Gaul, amphorae, statuettes, mosaic fragments, bronze furniture, architectural elements – including a Pompeian-style mural.  \n  \n**The Islamic Period**  \nAlthough medieval objects are rare, the Islamic occupation of the site has been confirmed by the discovery of architectural elements, by everyday Almohad and Almoravid ceramics, and especially by *cuerda seca* (dry cord) ceramics, including a celebrated drinking vase. Similar examples have been found in Murcia and Siyasa, Shaltish and Huelva in Andalusia.","city":"Larache","address":"Délégation du Ministère de la Culture  \nLarache, Morocco","phone":"+212 539 912 092"},"0ee9edf3-a6cd-5eef-bed9-6de0780dc655":{"name":"National Palace of Sintra","description":"As the sole surviving mediaeval royal palace in Portugal, and the residence of the Portuguese royal family since 1910, the National Palace of Sintra can trace its origin to the beginning of the Muslim period in the Iberian Peninsula.  \n  \nThe palace stands as living testimony to some of the most successful moments in Portuguese history when the country opened up to new worlds, and its architecture and heritage became marked by the harmonious combination of Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance elements.  \n  \nThe palace’s outward profile has become famous for its two monumental cone-shaped chimneys, while its interior walls are lined with Portugal’s largest set of Mudéjar tiles still in situ today. It also contains one of the country’s most important heraldic rooms and has some significant collections of decorative arts.","city":"Sintra","address":"Palácio Nacional de Sintra  \nLargo da Rainha D. Amélia  \n2710-616 Sintra  \nPortugal","website":"http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/parques-jardins-e-monumentos/palacio-nacional-de-sintra","phone":"+351 219 237 300"},"113e7cf6-f7c2-53aa-9442-5229ced56c72":{"name":"Museum Rietberg","description":"The Museum Rietberg is one of the largest art museums in Switzerland and is administered by the City of Zurich. With a focus on traditional and contemporary arts and cultures of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, it has some 23,000 objects and 37,000 ethnographic photographs in its collection. Most of the objects are on public display, either in the museum’s galleries or in its open storeroom.  \n  \nIn 1945, the City of Zurich bought the 67,000 square metres of the Rieterpark and the Villa Wesendonck. Then in 1949, the people of Zurich approved the plan to convert the Villa Wesendonck into a museum and to establish, at the same time, the Museum Rietberg. In 1952, the new museum finally opened its doors to the public. The complex consists of three nineteenth-century villas and a coach house, not to mention a recent underground extension opened in 2007.  \n  \nThe work of the Museum Rietberg is characterised by a high degree of professionalism, social inclusion, and diversity. The Museum aims to heighten awareness of the artistic achievements of individuals alongside those brought about by religious and social diversity. In so doing, it fulfils an important cultural mission in our increasingly globalised world.  \n  \nFurthermore, the Museum’s first-rate collection of international renown requires expert care, continuous academic study, including provenance research, while being actively expanded and managed. The institution ensures the transparency of the results of its research by making them largely available online.  \n  \nThe Museum Rietberg possesses both local and international connections with cultural institutions, collectors, and specialists in a variety of fields. It pursues a policy of long-term cooperation with countries of origin including Cameroon, India, Pakistan, and Peru.","city":"Zurich","address":"Gablerstrasse 15  \n8002 Zurich","website":"http://www.rietberg.ch","phone":"+41 44 415 31 31","email":"museum.rietberg@zuerich.ch"},"11a6bc48-e744-5a4d-bc24-6efd41668b46":{"name":"Basra Museum of Civilisation","description":"The Basra Museum of Civilisation is located in the Presidential Palaces Complex in Al-Baradhiyah, Basra, Iraq. It was created to share and protect the history of southern Iraq and the civilisations that once flourished there. The museum shows the richness of Iraq’s culture, displaying artefacts from Mesopotamia, the Islamic period, and modern times. Visitors can see ancient tools, coins, pottery, sculptures, and other historical pieces that tell the story of the people who lived in this land for thousands of years.  \n  \nThe museum is not only a place to see history but also a centre for learning. It welcomes students, teachers, and other visitors who want to understand Iraq’s past and its influence on the world. The museum also works with local and international experts to restore artefacts, organise exhibitions, and support cultural programs.  \n  \nToday, the Basra Museum of Civilisation stands as a symbol of pride and renewal for the people of Basra. It connects the past with the present, a reminder of the importance of protecting our cultural roots. Through its activities and exhibitions the museum inspires visitors to appreciate the value of history and to help preserve Iraq’s rich heritage for future generations.","city":"Basra","address":"Al-Baradhiyah – Presidential Palaces Complex","phone":"+964 781 377 7577","email":"basrahmuseum08@gmail.com"},"1232b5a2-7af1-5de4-a332-ff444943f8b0":{"name":"MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art","description":"The MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art – is one of the foremost museums of its kind in the world. The building located on Stubenring in the 1st district of Vienna was founded in 1863 as the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry) and today houses a unique collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art.  \n  \nThe MAK collection encompasses European and international decorative arts ranging from the Early Middle Ages to the present. The museum's main holdings include textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and metalwork as well as exquisite objects of the Wiener Werkstätte (craftworks) and Art Nouveau. Its collection of Oriental carpets and East Asian art are of the highest international significance.  \n  \nAmong the objects from the Islamic world, the collection of Oriental carpets is pre-eminent, and the museum holds the largest collection worldwide of paintings of the *Hamzanama* from the era of the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. Important examples of the applied arts are preserved in the MAK Asia Collection, which most notably include objects from Iran and the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Vienna","address":"Stubenring, 5  \nA-1010 Vienna  \nAustria","website":"http://www.mak.at","phone":"+43 1 711 36-248","email":"office@MAK.at"},"18e20431-88ff-5070-a722-ea79a4e19880":{"name":"The David Collection","description":"The David Collection was founded by C. L. David (1878-1960), a prominent Danish attorney, who had begun to collect fine and decorative art in the 1910s. In this last field, he was aided by directors of the Danish Museum of Art and Design, who gradually also guided him to another area that had previously attracted little interest in Denmark: Islamic art. The Islamic part of David’s collection was, however, still rather modest at the time of his death in 1960.  \n  \nA bachelor and childless, C. L. David left his Copenhagen townhouse and works of art to a private foundation, along with financial means that made it possible to expand his collections. From the 1970s, a decision was consequently made to place increasing emphasis on expanding the Islamic holdings. The Islamic Collection has grown to become not only the museum’s most important, with over 4,000 objects, but also Scandinavia’s most significant in its field.  \n  \nThe Islamic Collection has been built up in keeping with the classical pattern for Western collections of this kind. It embodies works of art from Spain in the west to India in the east, but not works from Sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia. Chronologically, the collection ranges from works dating to shortly after the advent of Islam to the middle of the 19th century. The collection encompasses all types of materials, but since the small rooms of 19th-century buildings like C. L. David’s townhouse, now the museum’s home, make it impossible to exhibit large objects, the museum consequently has only a modest collection of carpets, and they are either of small size or fragments of larger carpets.  \n  \nFollowing the museum’s refurbishment and reinstallation of its collections in 2009, the David Collection is now divided into three parts: European 18th-Century Art, Danish Early Modern Art, and Islamic Art. The collection of Islamic Art is presented in a new, contemporary setting, enhanced by digital and other modern techniques used to elucidate the objects on display. The backbone of the collection is 20 chronological/geographical sections, but the display also contains special galleries for light-sensitive materials as well as others dedicated to themes such as cultural history and artistic techniques.","city":"Copenhagen","address":"Kronprinsessegade, 30  \nCopenhagen  \nDenmark  \n  \nPostal address: Kronprinsessegade 30-32","website":"http://www.davidmus.dk/en","phone":"+45 33734949","email":"museum@davidmus.dk"},"19c6017a-4b0e-5530-b7ac-c09f8a4bf54d":{"name":"Calouste Gulbenkian Museum","description":"Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born in Scutari in 1869 into a family of Armenian origin. A pioneer of the oil industry and an exceptionally discerning and knowledgeable collector, he came to Portugal in 1942 as the Second World War raged in Europe. Gulbenkian spent the remaining years of his life in Lisbon and died here in 1955.  \n  \nIn 1956 the Foundation which takes his name was created, fulfilling his wish that the works of art that he had assembled over four decades as a collector should be kept together under one roof.  \n  \nThis desire was fulfilled in 1969 with the inauguration of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. The museum’s collection numbers some 6000 pieces. The breadth of the collection reflects Gulbenkian’s own preferences and the personal tastes which always guided him. It covers various periods of the history of art, from classical and oriental Antiquity to European art of the early twentieth century.  \n  \nThe Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is set in the Parque Santa Gertrudes and is a landmark in museum architecture in Portugal. With numerous openings to the exterior, it offers visitors a continuous dialogue between Nature and Art.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition galleries are on the first floor of the building and distributed around two patios. Each gallery is linked with its successor according to a chronological and geographical system of classification which results in two independent itineraries within the general circuit of the museum.  \n  \nGulbenkian was especially interested in oriental art (perhaps because of his own origins) and the collection’s numerous ceramics, carpets, tapestries, illuminations, book bindings and mosque lamps from the East are an illustration of this interest. These exhibits trace the various artistic tendencies of Persia, Turkey, Syria, the Caucasus, Armenia and India from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, and are on display in the Islamic Orient gallery.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Av. Berna, 45 A  \n1067-001 Lisbon, Portugal","website":"https://gulbenkian.pt/","phone":"+351 217 823 000","email":"museu@gulbenkian.pt"},"1a71204b-8e36-580b-a74d-a57610ef4232":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is a pioneering project spotlighting the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the project is the cornerstone for the State of Qatar in its establishment as a global capital of culture.  \n  \nThe 35,500 sq. m museum was designed by I.M. Pei, taking inspiration from the 13th-century sabil (ablutions fountain) of the 9th-century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo. The museum comprises a five-level main building and a two-storey Education Wing, connected across a fountain courtyard. The main building’s angular planes form ascending pinnacles, rising around an atrium. Inside, a dome is revealed, concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A window on the building’s north side rises to a height of 54 m., providing dramatic views from all five floors. The ground floor is home to a temporary gallery space for touring international exhibitions and the café, giftshop and Information Services. The museum’s permanent exhibition is installed on two floors of galleries designed by the French firm Jean-Michel Wilmotte & Associés. The fourth floor contains temporary galleries showcasing the research topics of museum staff, using items either not seen in the permanent galleries or with new information to see them in a new way.  \n  \nOverview of the collections  \nThe MIA houses artefacts highlighting the creative achievements of the Islamic world's richest cultures and spanning nearly a thousand years. The collection represents the full scope of Islamic art in all media, from manuscripts to ceramics, metalwork, glass, stone, ivory, textiles, wood, precious stones and jewellery.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition of c. 850 artefacts offers an insight into the diverse art of the Islamic world. Two floors are dedicated to the exploration of historical eras and interpretation of the themes of Islamic art and material culture, from the 8th century to the cusp of the 19th century.  \n  \nThe MIA also holds thousands more objects, some destined to be seen in future displays and others providing a resource for education and research.  \n  \nHighlights of the collection include: a distinguished group of carpets and textiles, a range of Ayyubid and Mamluk metalwork and enamelled glass, an outstanding strength in early ceramics, a comprehensive collection of astrolabes and scientific instruments, masterpieces of Mughal jewellery and rare manuscripts and miniatures.  \n  \nThe Department of Education and Information  \nThe department’s main goal is to create materials, programmes and workshops that will engage the public, allowing them to explore the world through Islamic art, promoting a culture of learning within an atmosphere of knowledge and entertainment.  \n  \nThe Curatorial Department  \nThe department of internationally trained curators is committed to studying, documenting and publicising the MIA’s collection and establishing the MIA as a world-class centre of scholarly research.  \n  \nThe Conservation Department  \nSet to become a leading regional service centre for museums, the department is committed to restoring, preserving and caring for the collection through the application of innovative scientific methods.  \n  \nInternational partnerships  \nThe MIA is committed to building a network of partnerships around the world and offering institutes and museums collective access to information, research and images. It has strong ties with many world-class museums and collections, including the Louvre, France, the British Museum, UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Germany, the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Gulbenkian, Portugal, and the National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art, Algeria.","city":"Doha","address":"Postal Address: P.O. Box 2777  \nDoha, Qatar","website":"mia.org.qa/","phone":"+974 4422 4444","email":"infomia@qma.org.qa; educationmia@qma.org.qa; librarymia@qma.org.qa"},"1d0ff55d-dcd7-59a9-b95d-18903aa4ab05":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded 1930 by Antonis Benakis, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek culture from the Paleolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos 138, the Toy Museum on the Athens seafront, the Ghika Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antonis Benakis during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the 19th century and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, tiraz textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. Then follow objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nAnother gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century mansion in Cairo, together with its fountain, qamariyya windows and a mashrabiyya screen. Other noteworthy exhibits are the collection of Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The display concludes with arms and armour and an important collection of Qajar jewellery that was collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a large section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains in situ at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \n10674 Athens","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"1db535b6-0ad9-580c-b2d0-66605f9e9d44":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Lisbon**  \nAncient Patriarch’s Palace, now Casa do Gaiato  \nArmy Museum  \nCalouste Gulbenkian Museum  \nChurch of St. Domingos de Benfica  \nLisbon’s Holy House of Mercy/Museum of São Roque  \nMacau Scientific and Cultural Centre Museum  \nMaritime Museum  \nNational Coach Museum  \nNational Library of Portugal  \nNational Museum of Ancient Art  \nPharmacy Museum  \n  \n**Alpiarça**  \nPatudos House, Alpiarça Museum  \n  \n**Alcobaça**  \nAlcobaça Monastery  \n  \n**Arouca**  \nSacred Art Museum of Arouca  \n  \n**Beja**  \nQueen Leonor Museum, Districtal Museum of Beja  \n  \n**Braga**  \nBraga Cathedral  \n  \n**Coimbra**  \nMachado de Castro National Museum  \nMuseum of Physics, University of Coimbra  \n  \n**Ílhavo**  \nVista Alegre Historic Museum  \n  \n**Oeiras**  \nOeiras Town Hall  \n  \n**Óbidos**  \nMunicipal Museum of Óbidos  \n  \n**Porto**  \nSoares dos Reis National Museum  \n  \n**Sardoal**  \nSardoal’s Holy House of Mercy  \n  \n**Viana do Castelo**  \nMuseum of Art and Archeology of Viana do Castelo  \n  \n**Vila Verde dos Francos**  \nOur Lady of the Visitation Convent  \n  \n**Vila Viçosa**  \nMuseum and Library of the House of Braganza  \n  \n**Viseu**  \nGrão Vasco Museum"},"1dc4a129-85b0-57d5-9622-15c790c4333f":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"Zisa Museum  \nAddress: Piazza Zisa, 1  \n90100 - Palermo  \nTel: +39 091 65 20 269  \n  \nCappella Palatina  \nAddress: P.zza del Risorgimento  \n90100 Palermo  \nTel: +39 091 6961111","city":"Palermo"},"203e899d-9ba9-57ac-9547-4789b6e891b4":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded 1930 by Antonis Benakis, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek culture from the Paleolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos 138, the Toy Museum on the Athens seafront, the Ghika Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antonis Benakis during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the 19th century and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, tiraz textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. Then follow objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nAnother gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century mansion in Cairo, together with its fountain, qamariyya windows and a mashrabiyya screen. Other noteworthy exhibits are the collection of Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The display concludes with arms and armour and an important collection of Qajar jewellery that was collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a large section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains in situ at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \n10674 Athens","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"22547ca7-10d6-5cc9-afc8-7b479e6eea75":{"name":"Ethnography Museum","description":"The Ethnography Museum’s architect Arif Hikmet (Koyunoğlu) is one of the most renowned architects of the early Republican period. The building has a rectangular plan with a single dome. The stone walls are faced with coarse sandstone, and the marble pediment has carved decoration.  \n  \nThe Ethnography Museum houses examples of Turkish art dating from the Seljuq period to modern times. To the right of the entrance are halls displaying items related to the Anatolian wedding ceremony and bridal dresses, Turkish embroidery, Turkish carpets, Anatolian coffee culture and the circumcision ceremony. To the left of the entrance are halls housing tile and glass artefacts, objects donated by Besim Atalay, Ottoman calligraphy and some of the finest wooden artefacts from the Seljuq and Emirate periods.","city":"Ankara","address":"Talatpaşa Bulvarı, Ülkü Sokak, 4  \nOpera, Ankara  \nTurkey","website":"https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=AET01&DistId=MRK","phone":"+90 312 311 30 00","email":"ankaraetnografyamuze@kultur.gov.tr"},"2300bb0e-fc9f-55c5-ae2e-20f619a46cce":{"name":"Weltmuseum Wien","description":"The Weltmuseum Wien – formerly the Museum of Ethnology – houses comprehensive collections of ethnographic objects, historical photographs, and books on non-European civilisations, making it one of the world’s leading ethnographic museums. Its roots can be traced back to 1806, when the \"Imperial and Royal Ethnographic Collection\" was established as part of the combined Imperial and Royal Court Cabinet of Natural Objects, following the partial acquisition of the \"Cook Collection\" at a London auction. The continuously growing collections were transferred to the newly created “Department of Anthropology and Ethnography” of the Royal Court Museum of Natural History in 1876. Limited space and a goal of developing ethnology as a cultural science convinced political decision-makers to establish a unified, cohesive Museum of Ethnology. The “Museum of Ethnology” opened formally in 1928 taking up the entire building of the “Corps de Logis” in Neue Burg.  \n  \nIn 2001 the Museum of Ethnology was incorporated into the KHM-Museum Association. In April 2013 the Museum of Ethnology became the \"Weltmuseum Wien\" – a site of world cultures – at Vienna’s Heldenplatz. In October 2017, after extensive reparation and modernisation of the historical building, the Museum reopened in its entirety with 14 completely revised permanent exhibition galleries. The Museum’s collection, meanwhile, has expanded to well over 200,000 inventory numbers.","city":"Vienna","address":"Heldenplatz  \n1010 Vienna","website":"http://www.weltmuseumwien.at","phone":"+43 1 534 30-5052","email":"info@weltmuseumwien.at"},"236add0a-18d4-55b1-88dd-71cad26804b1":{"name":"Archaeological Area and Museum of Mertola","description":"Located on the banks of the river Guadiana, the village of Mértola was of exceptional economic importance throughout the history of Iberia, right up until the period of its Christian Reconquest (1238 CE). This was due in large part to the vitality of its port which from the pre-Roman period onward traded in extracted metals from the nearby regions of Aljustrel and the mines of S. Domingos. The growing awareness of the city’s cultural richness owes largely to the heritage work done by the ‘Campo Arqueologico de Mértola’ (est. 1978) and the establishment of the Museum of Mértola on the back of finds from several excavations (est. 1982).  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum, with a geographical focus on the town and its municipality, has branched out to include archaeological sites representing several periods of history within its remit. These include a Roman house which was opened to the public in 1998, an early Christian basilica opened in 1993, as well as the church and necropolis of S. Sebastião which was inaugurated in 1999. Several other sites bring together important collections of archaeological materials, especially in the Castle Tower opened to the public in 1991 and the centre for Islamic Art which was opened in 2001. There is also an important collection of religious art with pieces dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries CE as well as ethnographic materials representative of traditional craftsmanship. These include a blacksmith’s forge and a weaving workshop where, at present, three weavers are in charge of preserving the centuries old tradition of Mértolan weaving.  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum contributes significantly to the study and knowledge of the Islamic period in Portugal. While its initial focus concentrated on archaeology, in time the museum opened up to other avenues in promoting the heritage and knowledge of Islamic Mértola. This effort is visible in the Islamic Museum which showcases in a time when the region was the capital of a Taifa kingdom throughout the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.  \n  \nThese consist of objects from the excavations of the Almohad neighbourhood as well as a reconstruction of one of the excavated houses uncovered. Other elements make it possible to establish a synthesis of the missing Mértola. The model of the central mosque reminds us of the original Aljama or central mosque and funerary steles refer indicate the Islamic cemetery or maqbara which is now the subject of renewed excavation.  \n  \nThe ceramics collected during the excavations also evoke daily life in Islamic Mértola with particular reference of those crafted in the ‘cuerda seca’ technique. All in all, the Mértola Museum not only preserves the heritage of the region but also provides important insight and a basis for research into the relationship between the town and several Western Mediterranean ports during the medieval period.  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum has been part of the Portuguese Museum Network since 2002.","city":"Mértola","address":"Morada – Praça Luís de Camões  \n7750-909 Mértola, Portugal","website":"http://www.camertola.pt/","phone":"+351 286 610 100","email":"museus@cm-mertola.pt"},"2970af60-fdee-5b70-8e87-7b8865a0c88d":{"name":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art","description":"The ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ Museum of Oriental Art opened to the public in 1958 and houses finds from several Italian archaeological missions conducted in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. As well as this are numerous objects purchased on the antique market, particularly those by Giuseppe Tucci during his voyages in Nepal and Tibet between 1928 and 1954.  \n  \nThe museum’s Islamic wing includes a rich collection of objects sourced from both archaeological excavations and private purchases. The provenance of the collection is wide-ranging including the items from the geographical territories that now make up the countries of Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and India. Chronologically the material covers an extensive period from the 8th to 19th centuries CE. The collection is arranged along different classes of production including; ceramics, metal works, miniatures, manuscripts, numismatics, jewellery, textile art, glass, arms & armour and wood.  \n  \nOf particular importance is the collection of archaeological finds from the palace of the Ghaznavid Sultan, Mas’ud III (1099-1115 CE) in Ghazni, Afghanistan. The archaeology of the site and its associated finds was brought to light by excavations conducted by the Archaeological Mission of the IsMEO (Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente) in the 1960’s. These consist mainly of elements of architectural decorations in brick and marble, marble funerary stones, ceramics and metals.  \n  \nThe museum's collection of Persian objects can be dated from the 8th to the 19th centuries. Ceramics from the Samanid (9th- 10th century) and Seljuk (11th -12th century) periods are well represented in the Museum collections. Ilkhanid period ceramics (13th -14th century), known for their use of ‘lajvardina’ glaze technique is also visible in the collections. The majority of metal objects within the Islamic collection stem from the Khorasan region of Eastern Iran and Western Afghanistan, a well-known historic centre for metallurgical production.  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \nSince September 2016, the National Museum of Oriental Art in Rome has merged into the new Museum of Civilisation, definitively closing in October 2017 for the transfer to its new headquarters in the Palazzo delle Scienze. While awaiting the definitive re-arrangement planned for the end of 2021, a temporary exhibition called “Open for Works” exhibits over 650 objects from the Oriental Museum (of which about 60 is considered Islamic Art) in the rooms of the Pigorini Museum.","city":"Rome","address":"Museo delle Civiltà | Museo d’arte orientale “Giuseppe Tucci”  \nPiazza Guglielmo Marconi, 14  \n00144 Rome, Italy","website":"https://www.museodellecivilta.it/","phone":"+39 06 549521","email":"mu-civ@cultura.gov.it"},"2a1f5dae-29fa-5a0c-ae24-b5bff11ef40a":{"name":"National Museum of Qatar","description":"Since its founding in 1975, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) has stood as a powerful symbol of the nation’s transformation, from a society rooted in desert traditions and maritime trade to a thriving modern state. As the museum celebrates its golden jubilee in 2025, it remains a cornerstone of Qatar’s cultural identity and a living archive of its history.   \n   \nConception and Vision of the First National Museum, 1975.   \nThe museum’s story begins with the original palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, built in 1906 along Doha’s coast. Once the seat of government and a family residence, the palace was abandoned in 1916 when Sheikh Abdullah relocated to what is now the Amiri Diwan. Recognizing its historical significance, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani selected the site in the 1970s as the foundation for the first national museum in the Gulf. The project aimed to restore the palace while creating a modern complex that reflected Qatar’s deep connection to both land and sea. The museum was designed around four core elements: the restored palace, the new state museum, a central lagoon, and the Maritime Museum.   \n  \nThe National Museum of Qatar officially opened to the public on 23 June 1975, with its mission to preserve the country’s heritage and educate future generations. The Museum Committee, formed in the early 1970s, played a crucial role in sourcing artifacts, shaping exhibitions, and ensuring the museum represented all aspects of Qatari life. Their grassroots approach made the museum a shared national project and a reflection of the people it served.   \n  \nTwo years later, in 1977, the Maritime Museum was inaugurated by the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, highlighting Qatar’s maritime heritage and introducing the Gulf’s first public aquarium. Designed in collaboration with Michael Rice Consulting, it remains one of the museum’s most remembered immersive features, celebrating Qatar’s legacy of pearl diving, fishing and seafaring. Its location by the waterfront paid tribute to the nation’s historic bond with the ocean.   \n   \nThe new National Museum    \nThe NMoQ’s current building, inaugurated on 28 March 2019 by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Inspired by the desert rose, the structure features a dramatic composition of interlocking discs that envelop the historic palace at its core symbolizing Qatar’s deep connection to both land and sea. The museum was developed under the leadership of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums reinforcing Qatar’s cultural vision on the global stage.   \n  \nThe museum unfolds across eleven immersive galleries over 10,000 square meters, guiding visitors along a 1.5-kilometer journey through Qatar’s natural history, heritage and development. Through films, digital displays, commissioned artworks, models, music and even evocative scents, the museum offers a multi-sensory experience that brings Qatar’s story to life. Over 3,700 square meters of space is dedicated to large-scale wall projections that echo the curvature of Nouvel’s architecture, seamlessly blending content with design.   \n  \nOver the past five decades, the NMoQ has grown into a world-class cultural hub. It has expanded its collections, embraced digital innovation and hosted global and international exhibitions while staying true to its founding mission. The influence of early visionaries like Sheikh Khalifa and the Museum Committee still guides its path today, ensuring community engagement and cultural pride remain at its heart.   \n  \nAs Qatar looks to the future, the National Museum of Qatar continues to serve as a bridge between past and present – a vibrant space where tradition meets innovation, and where the nation’s story is preserved, celebrated and passed on to generations to come.   \n  \nAuthor: Tania Al-Majid – Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs","city":"Doha","address":"POB 2777 Doha","website":"https://qm.org.qa/ar/"},"2a23d23f-5624-56f3-828f-3db6b5689a95":{"name":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","description":"The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York City – The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.  \n  \nSince it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.  \n  \nThe Met Fifth Avenue  \n1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street)  \nNew York, NY 10028  \n+1 212 535 7710  \nSunday–Thursday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nFriday and Saturday: 10:00am–9:00pm  \n  \nThe Met Breuer  \n945 Madison Avenue  \nNew York, NY 10021  \n+1 212 731 1675  \nClosed Monday  \nTuesday and Wednesday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nThursday and Friday: 10:00am–9:00pm  \nSaturday and Sunday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \n  \nThe Met Cloisters  \n99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park  \nNew York, NY 10040  \n+1 212 923 3700  \nMarch–October: 10:00am–5:15pm  \nMay 27–September 2, 2016: Open late on Fridays until 7:30pm  \nNovember–February: 10:00am–4:45pm  \n  \nAll locations closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1. The Met Fifth Avenue closed the first Monday in May.","city":"New York","address":"The Met Fifth Avenue  \n1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street)  \nNew York, NY 10028  \nSunday–Thursday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nFriday and Saturday: 10:00am–9:00pm","website":"http://www.metmuseum.org","phone":"+1 212 535 7710"},"2b67bf65-83b3-524f-8614-d81d59a41063":{"name":"Yıldız Palace Museum","description":"Yıldız Palace is located on the Yıldız hill. Sultan Ahmed I was the first to build a pavilion there. At the end of the 18th century, Sultan Selim III built Yıldız Pavilion and a fountain. Sultan Abdülaziz built the State Apartments, Cit Pavilion, Malta and Cadir Kiosks.  \n  \nThe main construction started under Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876–1909). It was called Saray-I Hümayun (Central Palace) and comprised buildings for the sultan’s private use and for officials, repair shops and carpentry, a theatre, a museum, a library, Hasbahce inner garden and small independent buildings.  \n  \nAfter Sultan Vahidettin’s reign, the palace was allocated to the Staff Officers’ Academy. It was handed over to the Ministry of Culture in 1978 and began to serve as a museum under the name of “Directorate of the Museum of Yıldız Palace” from 1993.  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nThe Museum is no longer under the responsibility of the Ministry of Cuture but has been transferred to the Presidency. It is currently closed and under restoration (March 2019).","city":"Istanbul","address":"Barbaros Bulvarı  \nSerencebey Yokuşu, 62  \n34349 Beşiktaş, Istanbul  \nTurkey"},"2b938ebe-ef9a-5f29-bf39-4d90124062e7":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the architectural capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"2bb1dd80-9c9b-5b6c-95f5-603929bd863d":{"name":"Victoria and Albert Museum","description":"The Victoria and Albert (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art and design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. When the museum opened to the public in 1852, its mission was to reform design by making works of art available to all, improving the public’s understanding of the subject and providing inspiration for designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world.  \n  \nThe V&A comprises a family of sites, including the V&A in South Kensington, Young V&A located in Bethnal Green, V&A Dundee in Scotland, the V&A Wedgwood Collection housed in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shekou, China, and opening in 2024/25 will be V&A East located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. Across these sites the museum showcases their collections to a wide range of audiences and aims to champion design and creativity in all its forms.","city":"London","address":"Cromwell Road  \nSouth Kensington  \nLondon SW7 2RL  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"www.vam.ac.uk","phone":"+44 20 7942 2000","email":"contact@vam.ac.uk"},"2d1fcee2-b5ee-57c9-9036-8389d4947106":{"name":"Budapest History Museum","description":"In 2007 the Budapest History Museum celebrated the 120th anniversary of its foundation and the 100th anniversary of its first exhibition. The state-sponsored Museum is located at 10 sites among which are three museums – the Royal Palace, the Kiscell Museum and the Aquincum Museum – there are also the Turkish Burial Chapel of Gül Baba, the Medieval Synagogue, Hercules Villa and the Roman Baths.  \n  \nThe archaeologists at the Budapest History Museum lead excavations within the the capital and its surroundings, collect objects, documents and other works of art, and carry out research into the history of Budapest from the Palaeolithic era to the present. The museum publishes periodicals and other papers on the history of the city, and its experts participate in international research projects.  \n  \nIncorporated into the former Royal Castle, the Medieval Palace of Buda, was the seat of the Hungarian kings. Here, Permanent exhibitions present a historical survey of Buda and Pest from the Palaeolithic era to the end of the Avar period, and the history of Buda and Pest from the 17th to the 20th century. Famous Gothic statues found in the late 1970s are on display as are relics from the Middle Ages.  \n  \nIn the Baroque Monastery and Church of Kiscell, a permanent exhibition elucidates the history of the capital from the 19th to the 20th century, together with a gallery showing a selection of artworks by 19th- and 20th- century artists.  \n  \nThe Aquincum archaeological site provides working evidence of recent excavations, while a permanent exhibition in the late 19th-century museum building displays objects excavated on this site dating from the Antique Roman period. A new exhibition hall is currently under construction in a former electricity station built in 1930; it will provide a new, extensive exhibition on the history of ancient times.  \n  \nTemporary exhibitions are held in rooms on the ground floor and in the first-floor exhibition hall.","city":"Budapest","address":"Budapest History Museum  \nBuda Castle Building \"E\"  \nSzent György tér 2  \nBudapest 1014  \nHungary","website":"http://www.btm.hu","phone":"+36 1 487 8800","email":"btm@mail.btm.hu"},"31de84d4-3de2-5ea1-b1d4-c8712cbcb314":{"name":"Museum of Arts and Crafts","description":"The Museum of Arts and Crafts was founded in 1880 by the Croatian Art Society.  \n  \nThe organisation of the Museum derived from the theoretical foundations of the Arts and Crafts movement. In keeping with the spirit of the times, the Arts and Crafts School was opened in 1882. The new headquarters building of the Museum and the School was completed in 1888, in the old Fair Square, today's Marshal Tito Square.  \n  \nThe basic collections of museum objects were created mostly from the donations of patriots. They were augmented through the purchase of several important collections from private collectors and also by programmed acquisitions, both within the country and from abroad.  \n  \nUp to World War One the Museum's scientific, professional and collection policy respected the conception laid down in the original motives underlying its establishment.  \n  \nBetween the two World Wars the concept of the Museum changed from being a collection of items to a cultural, historical and artistic institution.  \n  \nAfter World War Two the concept of modern museum communication became important, with many activities intended to involve the public.  \n  \nThe permanent display, opened in 1962, was of particular importance. Its backbone was the collection of furniture which, guided by the idea of a complex art museum that values equally all the fields of plastic arts design, was displayed in synthesis with other objects.  \n  \nThe present permanent display, created in 1995, has built on the positive experiences of earlier displays and has been broadened by new thematic units. With modern spatial differentiation and new multimedia contents the museum has become an experience which, by placing the visitor in an atmosphere of tangible historical heritage, essentially determines him or her as a cultural being.  \n  \nFor the Baroque period the Museum's holdings include many outstanding European artefacts, especially in the applied arts, including one of the largest collections of Baroque church art in Croatia.","city":"Zagreb","address":"Trg maršala Tita, 10  \n10000 Zagreb  \nCroatia","website":"http://www.muo.hr","phone":"+385 1 4882111","email":"muo@muo.hr"},"325b7505-1527-5442-99ea-6a40f8c43d3f":{"name":"Islamic Museum at Al-Aqsa Mosque","description":"The museum was officially inaugurated in AH 1341 / AD 1922. In AH 1348 / AD 1929, it was transferred to its present site in the southwestern corner of the Haram al-Sharif. The museum is administered through the Department of Islamic Awqaf in Jerusalem, under the auspices of the Ministry of Jordanian Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places.  \n  \nThe museum comprises three buildings with an exhibition space of over 1,000 square m. The oldest hall is from the AH 6th / AD 12th century and is a rare Crusader monument in the holy city. The second hall was an Ayyubid mosque (AH 7th / AD 13th century) historically known as al-Malikiya mosque or the Jami’a al-Mughariba. The third hall is known as the *al-Fakhriya* corner and its history goes back to the Mamluk period (AH 8th / AD 14th century).  \n  \nThe collection consists of artefacts and remains from the Islamic and non-Islamic epochs, representing various facets of Islamic civilisation ranging in geography, theme and period. Most of the artefacts represent the heritage of al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem and Palestine at large including cities such as Hebron and Nablus.  \n  \nThe museum contains woodwork from different Islamic eras, the oldest dating to the Umayyad period. Metalwork in iron, copper and silver includes the iron enclosure from the Dome of the Rock, candlesticks, swords, daggers, daises, incense burners, coins, rings and memorial pieces. The collection includes marble and glazed tiles that panelled the the Dome of the Rock in the period of Sultan Sülayman the Magnificent (r. AH 926–74 / AD 1520–66) and his successors. There is a collection of earthenware, inscriptions on stone from different Islamic periods and its precursors, and columns and capitals from the Roman and Byzantine periods. There is a valuable collection of Qur’ans, the oldest from the AH 9th / AD 15 th century, and many Mamluk manuscripts whose themes deal with social and economic life in the holy city. The museum displays part of its textile collection, with costumes, grave coverings, pieces from the *kiswa* (covering) of the Ka’ba and pieces of carpet.","city":"Jerusalem","address":"Al-Haram al-Sharif  \nAmro  \nP.O. Box 75085  \nJerusalem","website":"http://www.facebook.com/islamic.museum1922/","phone":"02 6283286","email":"jerusalem.museum@gmail.com"},"33f89573-8b54-5c1a-86ba-1663e604740f":{"name":"Jordan Archaeological Museum","description":"The museum was founded in 1951 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan on the Citadel of Amman on a hill called Jabal al-Qal’a. The building has a total measurement of 525 m2 on two floors. The ground floor is used for storage, and the first floor comprises the display area, which consists of three exhibition halls, and administrative offices.  \n  \nThe museum holds many artefacts found in various archaeological sites in Jordan representing the path of civilization in this area throughout its long history. The extensive collection is arranged chronologically by historical periods, from the Stone Ages to the Islamic periods.  \n  \nThe Islamic art collection is displayed in an exhibition hall in eleven showcases that consist of: pottery vessels from the Umayyad period to the Mamluk period; glazed vessels from the Mamluk period to the Ottoman period; steatite vessels from the Umayyad period; coins of all types and periods; metalwork and pottery vessels from the Umayyad to Mamluk periods; iron shields and swords from the Mamluk period; carved stones from the Umayyad period; four plaster replicas of architectural elements from Khirbat al-Mafjar Palace in Jericho (windows, lintel and a dome from the bath).  \n  \nLack of space prohibits the display of temporary exhibitions; however, the museum participates in many local and international exhibitions held in Jordan and abroad to show the history and archaeology of Jordan throughout the ages.  \n  \nThree curators sharing the responsibility of looking after the whole collection of the museum.","city":"Amman","address":"Citadel of Amman  \nP.O. Box 88  \nAmman, Jordan","phone":"+962 6 463 8795"},"36670bdc-150b-5f89-8906-79b8e4e2518d":{"name":"The David Collection","description":"The David Collection was founded by C. L. David (1878-1960), a prominent Danish attorney, who had begun to collect fine and decorative art in the 1910s. In this last field, he was aided by directors of the Danish Museum of Art and Design, who gradually also guided him to another area that had previously attracted little interest in Denmark: Islamic art. The Islamic part of David’s collection was, however, still rather modest at the time of his death in 1960.  \n  \nA bachelor and childless, C. L. David left his Copenhagen townhouse and works of art to a private foundation, along with financial means that made it possible to expand his collections. From the 1970s, a decision was consequently made to place increasing emphasis on expanding the Islamic holdings. The Islamic Collection has grown to become not only the museum’s most important, with over 4,000 objects, but also Scandinavia’s most significant in its field.  \n  \nThe Islamic Collection has been built up in keeping with the classical pattern for Western collections of this kind. It embodies works of art from Spain in the west to India in the east, but not works from Sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia. Chronologically, the collection ranges from works dating to shortly after the advent of Islam to the middle of the 19th century. The collection encompasses all types of materials, but since the small rooms of 19th-century buildings like C. L. David’s townhouse, now the museum’s home, make it impossible to exhibit large objects, the museum consequently has only a modest collection of carpets, and they are either of small size or fragments of larger carpets.  \n  \nFollowing the museum’s refurbishment and reinstallation of its collections in 2009, the David Collection is now divided into three parts: European 18th-Century Art, Danish Early Modern Art, and Islamic Art. The collection of Islamic Art is presented in a new, contemporary setting, enhanced by digital and other modern techniques used to elucidate the objects on display. The backbone of the collection is 20 chronological/geographical sections, but the display also contains special galleries for light-sensitive materials as well as others dedicated to themes such as cultural history and artistic techniques.","city":"Copenhagen","address":"Kronprinsessegade, 30  \nCopenhagen  \nDenmark  \n  \nPostal address: Kronprinsessegade 30-32","website":"http://www.davidmus.dk/en","phone":"+45 33734949","email":"museum@davidmus.dk"},"36dd7a00-ac4e-5317-9673-604bbb89af53":{"name":"Museum of Oriental Art (Fondazione Torino Musei)","description":"Turin’s new Museum of Oriental Art marks the culmination of various strands of interest in this field: the city boasts a long tradition of Oriental studies at the university – backed by the presence of a major centre for specialised research (CESMEO), while the past few years have seen a growing realisation of the need to create specific instruments to further our knowledge and understanding of distant cultural worlds. A museum that displays artistic creations from different cultures not only fulfils its own vocation as a repository for their conservation and exhibition, but above all prompts visitors to expand their own ethnocentric horizons.  \n  \nThese were some of the underlying grounds that led to the idea of creating a Museum of Oriental Art (MAO), in Turin based on the redefinition, renewal and expansion of the Oriental Section of the Civic Museum of Ancient Art.  \n  \nThe new museum, stands in one of the city’s most lively and fascinating areas, is housed in Palazzo Mazzonis, which was built between the 17th and the 18th century, known, which was formerly owned by the Marquis Solaro della Chiusa before being passed in 1870 to Chevalier Paolo Mazzonis, a textile magnate. After becoming the head office of the Manifattura Mazzonis, extensive improvements were carried out, especially on the first floor. The Mazzonis business failed in 1968 and the building remained unused. It was purchased by Turin City Council in 1980 and restored to house a section of the law court from 1982 to 2001 and finally, after appropriate restoration became site of a museum.  \n  \nThe Museum now contains some 1500 works from all over Asia. The rooms used for the permanent exhibition are divided into five separate “galleries”, which have fitted naturally into the structural layout of the building.  \n  \nThe MAO aspires to be as representative as possible in its choice of artworks from the various countries: its collections include the major cultural traditions from the continent, building on the important collections already owned by various institutions in Turin, whose directly inspired the proposed layout for the new museum which is divided into five clearly defined cultural areas: South Asia, China, Japan, Himalayan Countries and Islamic Countries.  \n  \nThe order in which the works are presented and the accompanying exhibit labels aim to highlight the points of contact and creative interactions between the different countries at the various historical periods, reintroducing a unified interpretation to the proposed route.  \n  \nThe MAO also acts as a cultural intermediary for visitors, who are generally unfamiliar with the concepts and cultural traditions to which exhibits refer. It aims to inspire visitors to explore new forms of thought, encouraging a fuller awareness of the value of all human knowledge.  \n  \nLastly, the MAO offers a wide range of public services: multimedia stations, online catalogue on the museum’s website, bookshop, possibility of using the art library and photographic archives of Fondazione Torino Musei, seminars, conferences, temporary exhibitions, and the educational rooms.","city":"Turin","address":"Via San Domenico11  \n10122 Turin","website":"http://www.maotorino.it","phone":"+39 01 14 43 69 27","email":"mao@fondazionetorinomusei.it"},"3acfd33c-e4e0-5b37-a94a-380f38913853":{"name":"National Museum of Aleppo","description":"The earliest collection of art and archaeological artefacts for the National Museum of Aleppo dates back to 1928 and the museum was formally inaugurated in1931. Initially it was devoted to the pre-Greco-Roman era, with works no later than 333 BC, most of which were based on finds from Tell Halaf. It was decided to move the collection from its original location in an Ottoman period building, which had become overcrowded, into a modern purpose-built museum, begun in 1967 and formally opened in 1972. It includes the following wings:  \n  \nPre-historic art: dedicated to finds such as bones and pottery from the regions of Syria and the Euphrates Valley. Some items are about a million years old and the most recent piece dates to no later than 3,200 BC, after which writing was developed and art became historic.  \n  \nAncient Near Eastern art from Syria: one of the most important sections containing pieces from Tell Halaf, Mari, Ugarit, Ebla and other significant sites of early Near Eastern civilisations, all displayed in chronological order in three large wings.  \n  \nClassical art from the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods: pottery, coins, a number of limestone funerary carvings from the ancient city of Mambij, and a collection of Roman and Byzantine glass flasks used for perfume, eye-kohl and drugs are some of this section's main features, all displayed chronologically.  \n  \nArab Islamic art: The method of display here is based on the item's function and medium, such as pottery, ceramics, metalwork and glass of the various Islamic dynasties as well as a collection of gold and silver coins of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. A stone cenotaph carved in floriated kufic calligraphy is a masterpiece of this hall. Medieval military equipment and an Ottoman wooden ceiling featured in a side chamber are also presented.  \n  \nModern art: paintings by Syrian artists, particularly Aleppines, expressed in various styles such as realism, cubism, expressionism.","city":"Aleppo","address":"Al-Ma'arri Street  \nAleppo, Syria","phone":"+963 21 2122400"},"3b73a306-1129-5c8d-acba-8e34a39e132f":{"name":"The British Museum","description":"The British Museum was established by Act of Parliament in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all “studious and curious persons”. The founding collection was that of Sir Hans Sloane, a wealthy physician and collector. The original British Museum comprised three departments: Printed Books; Manuscripts (including coins); and Natural and Artificial Productions, which included everything from sculpture to mineral samples and zoological specimens. In January 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the public.  \n  \nAs a product of the Enlightenment, the museum's job was to be a storehouse of knowledge for the use and benefit of the public, advancing all fields of scholarship. The museum therefore aimed to collect all kinds of material; it remains one of the few places in the world in which it is possible to see the world under one roof. During the 19th century the museum acquired representative collections of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, as well as material from across the Islamic world.  \n  \nThe museum itself had to grow to offer space to display the growing collections. Between 1823 and 1847 the original building was replaced by four large wings built around a central courtyard. In 1854 construction began on the iconic Round Reading Room in the central courtyard. The natural history collections were given their own home in the new Museum of Natural History in 1881. By 1973 the British Library and British Museum were administratively separated, and in 1999 the new British Library building opened at St Pancras. The British Museum site was expanded and modernised. In 2000 the Great Court opened, envisioned as a sunny piazza at the centre of the building, with up-to-date facilities such as lecture theatres, an education centre and facilities for school children, as well as restaurants and shops. In 2014 the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened to the public, offering state-of-the-art facilities to care for, manage, research and display the collections.","city":"London","address":"Great Russell St., London WC1B 3DG  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.britishmuseum.org","phone":"+44 20 7323 8000 / 8299","email":"information@britishmuseum.org"},"3cabd108-49d0-5d92-81a4-97d23084da2c":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The museum collection features *azulejos* (decorative ceramic tiles) from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. As well as tiles, it includes ceramics, porcelain and faience from the 19th to the 20th century. Its permanent exhibition starts with a display of the materials and techniques used for manufacturing tiles. The National Tile Museum was established in 1965 and became a national museum in 1980. It is located in the former Convent of Madre de Deus, founded by Queen D. Leonor in 1509. The museum underwent different building campaigns that involved transformations such as in its 16th-century mannerist cloister.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisboa  \nPortugal","website":"www.museudoazulejo.pt","phone":"+351 218 100 340","email":"geral@mnazulejo.dgpc.pt"},"3eb798ec-9543-5a63-ba38-c22270fbbe84":{"name":"University Museum of Islamic Art | The Bumiller Collection","description":"An exceptional collection of early Islamic bronzes is housed in a historical town-house in the heart of the old city of Bamberg. The objects mostly originate from the Persianate world what is today Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The collection is completed by a significant number of ceramics, glass and ivory objects as well as numismatics and manuscripts. The many-sided compilation includes nearly all objects of daily life. Writing equipment, cosmetic utensils, jugs, bowls, trays, fumigating vessels, oil lamps, jewellery, mirrors and the like give a fascinating insight into the life along the Silk Road in the Middle Ages. The exhibition shows the development of forms as well as the high standard of metallurgy mastered by medieval craftsmen in the region. The most ambitious décor and production techniques such as repoussé, punching, engraving and damascening that Islamic art put forth during the centuries are represented among the objects of the collection.  \n  \nIt is the Bumiller Art Foundation's concern to present most diverse products of Islamic metallurgy and to make them available for research and learning. The museum continuously serves as a venue for researchers, students and all those interested in Islamic art.","city":"Bamberg","address":"Austraße 29  \n96047 Bamberg  \nGermany","website":"http://www.the-bumiller-collection.com","phone":"+49 951 25954","email":"info@the-bumiller-collection.com"},"400b4019-e025-5ffe-b2a6-16f7bf722698":{"name":"National Foundation of Museums","description":"Since its creation in 2011, at the suggestion of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the National Foundation of Museums has occupied a prominent place in Morocco’s cultural landscape. The NFM’s core mission is to include culture as an economic and social factor in the development of the Kingdom.  \nMuseums have varying aims, but a primary goal is to preserve our history and our multiple identities. Museums offer abundant collections of various rare and unique works of art, and objects that perpetuate the transmission of the rich and diverse heritage of previous civilisations.  \nThe NFM supports national museums in many ways, from restoration and modernisation of buildings to the upgrading of exhibition facilities. The NFM welcomes and features renowned national and international artists in its museums, and exhibits items from our artistic, ethnographic and archaeological heritage.  \nThe National Foundation of Museums now has eighteen open museums across the Kingdom, and will soon open more museum spaces to the public.","city":"Rabat","address":"31, avenue Alaouiyine, quartier Hassan  \nRabat, Morocco","website":"https://fnm.ma/","phone":"+212 5 30 67 60 81","email":"contact@fnm.ma"},"40411e66-c284-545a-b2ef-8e0e8a2c7f6e":{"name":"MKG Museum for Applied Arts","description":"The Museum for Applied Arts (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg) is a museum of applied arts highlighting design, photography, fashion and graphic arts and crafts. The MKG was inaugurated in 1877 under its founding director Justus Brinckmann (1843-1915).  \n  \nThe Museums houses about 500,000 objects of art and design, covering a geographical scope from Europe, the Mediterranean Regions, to West and Asia. Over 4000 years of history of design and culture are presented, from Antiquity to the Present Age.  \n  \nThe Islamic Art wing is the oldest of its kind in Germany and has been part of the museum since its foundation. Justus Brinckmann acquired objects labelled Islamic Art in the context of the World Fairs in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1889). The initial focus of the collection were tiles and ceramics, which were acquired as decorative art.  \n  \nThe collection is significant for its outstanding individual objects. For example the *Divan Muhibbi* an illuminated volume of poetry (1554) by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent or parts of the tile paneling of Buyan Kuli Khan’s mausoleum in Bukhara (Uzbekistan), fragments of a 16th century. Another masterpiece of the collection is a Safavid royal carpet.","city":"Hamburg","address":"Steintorplatz,  \nHamburg  \nGermany","website":"http://www.mkg-hamburg.de/","phone":"+49 (0)40 428134-880","email":"service@mkg-hamburg.de"},"42eb1281-cf64-5be3-9aeb-3b6b9a72e3f7":{"name":"National Museum in Kraków ‒ MNK","description":"The National Museum in Kraków ‒ MNK, founded in 1879, is the oldest public museum in Poland.  \n  \nThe Museum stores rich collections of European and world cultural heritage ‒ almost 780,000 objects from every period of history.  \n  \nThe core of the collection is Polish art (painting, sculpture, drawing and decorative art), though there are also numerous western European works, a collection of religious art related to the Orthodox Church, and an extremely valuable collection of Oriental art, mainly from Japan.  \n  \nThe MNK possesses a separate collection of ancient art, collections of medieval and modern art, craft, arms and armour and recent works acquired from contemporary artists. Besides works of art, the Museum also keeps library collections (including old prints, manuscripts and cartography), numismatics and historical photographs.  \n  \nThe Museum also conducts scientific research and conservation in its own conservation workshops.  \n  \nThe Museum popularises this valuable heritage by arranging permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions in Poland and abroad, as well as various educational workshops for adults and children, realised in cooperation with many societies and foundations. The best evidence of the Museum’s commitment and event-management skills is seen in the numbers: in 2015, over 800,000 visitors attended exhibitions and events organised by the MNK.  \n  \nIn addition, the National Museum in Kraków is recognised for its record of realising local, national and international projects funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. To fulfil its mission, the Museum protects the national legacy put in its care, and in doing so applies the latest technologies, yet not without due respect for tradition.","city":"Kraków","address":"Al. 3 Maja, 1  \n30-062 Kraków  \nPoland","website":"http://www.mnk.pl","phone":"+48 12 433 55 00","email":"dyrekcja@mnk.pl"},"42fb6391-e1f6-527a-85db-f9638b02d667":{"name":"Higher Institute for the Study of Contemporary History of Tunisia, University of Manouba","description":"The Higher Institute for the Study of Contemporary History of Tunisia (ISHCT) is a research centre for contemporary history in Tunisia. It houses a microfilm archive, audio-visual witness records, a collection of photographs and a library available on request to researchers, journalists, activists and students wishing to conduct in-depth research into the history of the colonisation and decolonisation of Tunisia. There are four research and study units (UER) bringing together historical researchers dedicated to using the different resources to improve understanding of this period of Tunisian history: UER Archives, UER Repositories of Memory and Museums, UER Oral History and UER History. Through the publication of a review (RAWAFID), conference papers, seminars and scientific meetings, memories from witnesses and document collections, ISHCT hopes to enhance the university library in line with advances in documentation and  methodology, thereby helping to stimulate research into this historical period by setting up scientific exchanges in Tunisia and abroad.","city":"Tunis","address":"Campus Universitaire de la Manouba,  \n2010 La Manouba  \nTunis  \nTunisia","phone":"+216 716 009 50","email":"ishmn@ishmn.rnu.tn"},"4ab46509-e7a3-56bf-8e30-734b61d97e56":{"name":"Umm Qays Archaeological Museum","description":"This museum, opened to the public in 1987, is located in a renovated historical building (late 19th century) constructed on the acropolis from basalt and limestone. The exhibition space consists of two vaulted halls in which artefacts uncovered in the course of excavation at the ancient site of Gadara (Umm Qays) are displayed. Mosaic panels, marble statues and carved basalt sarcophagi are exhibited in the courtyard of the museum.","city":"Irbid","address":"P.O.B. 62  \nIrbid, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 7500072"},"4df52263-9f4f-577a-8758-36bd2784101b":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The *azulejo* is one of the most characteristic expressions of Portuguese fine arts and one of the elements that clearly identify the Portuguese culture and aesthetic language. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo acts as a showcase for the immense ceramic heritage found in many places in Portugal. It is one of the most important museums in the country and is unparalleled in Portugal due to its unique collection, as well as for the building where it is located - the ancient Convent of Madre de Deus (Mother of God), founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525), a peerless work of Portuguese religious architecture. Following major works undertaken on the orders of D. João III (1502-1566), further works followed in the reigns of D. Pedro II (1648-1706) and D. João V (1689-1750). Gilt wood carvings covered the altars and picture frames, articulating with the blue .  \nThe collection covers the production of *azulejo* from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. In addition to the *azulejo* the collection integrates ceramics, porcelain and faïence of the 19th and 20th centuries.  \nThe route allows the visitant to have an overview of the history of the *azulejo* production in the Portuguese territory until the present day, as well as to visit the spaces of the ancient convent, with particular reference to the Church, the chapter-house, the cloisters and the Chapel of Saint Anthony.  \nThe exhibition begins with the Islamic origins of the *azulejo*, seen in both its name and the techniques and decoration used. From this brief introduction, the expository route follows a chronological organization. The highlights of the exhibition include an *azulejo* made in Seville c.1508-1509 with the armillary sphere (king D. Manuel's personal symbol), the retable of *Nossa Senhora da Vida* (Lisbon, c.1580), the pattern compositions and the altar frontals of the 17th century, *The Leopard Hunt* and *Singerie: The Marriage of the Hen* (Lisbon, 17th century), the commissions of the blue and white tiles to The Netherlands (also covering the Church's walls) and the Portuguese production, the *Grand Panorama of Lisbon* (Lisbon, c.1700) and the modern and contemporary artists.  \nThe Museu Nacional do Azulejo has one of the best and most complete collections of contemporary authorial revetments, displaying the multiple proposals produced in recent times.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisboa","website":"http://www.museudoazulejo.pt/","phone":"+351 21 8100340","email":"geral@mnazulejo.dgpc.pt"},"52bbcbf2-d512-5cee-84fb-7c32c794a84f":{"name":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","description":"Built in Honolulu, Hawai'i from 1936–1938, Shangri La overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head and houses Doris Duke’s (1912–1993) collection of Islamic art. Of the many homes that Duke inhabited, Shangri La is the only one that she built from the ground up and filled from the inside out.  \n  \nThe five-acre complex integrates a 14,000-square-foot house, a Playhouse, and a pool, comprising a series of interlocking spaces, both indoors and out: rooms, courtyards, lanais, terraces, gardens, and numerous water features. While design and early construction were underway, Duke traveled extensively in the Middle East, visiting historical monuments and providing the architect with photographs of architectural decoration to be incorporated into Shangri La's design. She also placed large commissions with contemporary artisans in India, Morocco, Iran, and Syria to create art and architectural elements, utilizing traditional forms, patterns, and means of fabrication.  \n  \nFor nearly 60 years, Doris Duke continued to collect Islamic art, ultimately forming a collection of about 2,500 objects, many of which are embedded into the structure of the house. Iranian ceramic tile panels, carved and painted ceilings from Morocco, jali (perforated screen) doors and windows, and textiles and carpets create a living environment of Islamic art and architectural decoration.  \n  \nThe later centuries of production (c. 1600–1940) are better represented, and ceramics, metalwork, wood, glass and textiles are favored over the arts of the book and works on paper. The collection ranges from items of the finest artistic quality, including medieval Persian tilework and painted interiors from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Damascus, to ethnographic objects such as leather saddles and a bedouin-style tent, reflecting Duke's broad and inclusive sense of aesthetics.  \n  \nToday, Shangri La is nationally recognized for its high artistic value and as one of Hawai'i's most architecturally significant homes. It is open to the public for guided tours and educational programs such as lectures, performances and occasional symposia. Shangri La also supports residencies for contemporary artists and for scholars researching Islamic art.","city":"Honolulu","address":"4055 Papu Circle  \nHonolulu, HI 96816  \nUSA","website":"http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/","phone":"(808) 734-1941","email":"shangrilahawaii@ddcf.org"},"559ab197-7289-5af4-a295-1118bde9afce":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, State Museums","description":"**The Museum of Islamic Art is closed from October 2023 to March 2027 due to renovation and expansion works.**  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum Berlin is the only institution of its kind in Germany, the oldest in the West and with its c. 93,000 pieces it houses one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art from nearly all regions of Islamic rule.  \n  \nIts collections are especially rich in objects from an architectural context including the monumental façade of the caliphal palace of Mshatta (Jordan), dating from the mid-8th century. It is the largest artefact of Islamic Art in any museum worldwide. The unique dome from the Alhambra Palace in Granada (Spain) and 13th-century prayer niches from Kashan (Iran) and Konya (Turkey) are among the highlights. Most loved by our visitors is the finely painted wooden panelling of an upper-class house from Aleppo (Syria) from the early 17th century – it is the oldest surviving exemplar from the Ottoman World. Among the several archaeological groups from major excavations in the Islamic world the finds from the 9th-century caliphal capital of Samarra (Iraq) stand out. The collection also has a large number of important Ottoman and Persian carpets and bibliographical works of art, including numerous miniatures from the Mughal Empire.  \n  \nThe collection is displayed chronologically, allowing the visitor to follow the different stylistic phases of Islamic art and to develop a notion of the complex Islamic history and its artistic merits. Because of the large number of visitors (up to 900,000 yearly), only a small number of the most important works of art are on display. The museum will move inside Pergamon-Museum and will triple its exhibition space (3,000sq.m) by 2020. The layout and concept will discover new and innovative ways to present the cultural legacy.  \n  \nWith its rich art and archaeological collection, the Museum of Islamic Art is one of the leading research institutions dedicated to the material culture of the Middle East and neighbouring regions. Our many research, conservation and exhibition projects amount to a probing investigation of the urban legacies of the Near and Middle East. The institution houses important collections of archival photographs on Islamic art and architecture as well as an internationally outstanding library focused on art, architecture and archaeology in the world of Islam.","city":"Berlin","address":"Geschwister-Scholl-Straße, 6  \n10117 Berlin  \nGermany","website":"http://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/museum-fuer-islamische-kunst/home.html","phone":"+49 30 266 42 5201","email":"isl@smb.spk-berlin.de"},"57de3063-0978-5145-a700-a8b94f7e17a6":{"name":"Open Museum Initiative for Water Cultures","description":"The Open Museum Initiative for Water Culture is a creative initiative for the protection and revitalisation of water heritage in the Fertile Crescent and Arabian Peninsula. From its hub in Basra, where the Tigris-Euphrates river system meets the Gulf, it connects regionally through the flow of the waters and shared cultural and ecological heritage.  \n  \nThe initiative emerged from fieldwork by artist-researcher Rashad Salim with Safina Projects (since 2016), whose work to document and revive Iraq’s endangered maritime heritage highlights the role of boats as a means of movement and connection, both historically and today through the development of the Iraqi Heritage Boat Clubs Network and Water Scouts initiative.  \n  \nThe main Open Museum site was developed in 2021, when artisan builders in cooperation with Basra University’s architecture department constructed a series of buildings (using traditional reed and palm architecture techniques) to house Safina Projects’ collection. The Basra hub now includes a waterfront at Khora Marina (home of Basra Heritage Boat Club), and a maritime heritage exhibition at Basra Centre for Manuscripts and Heritage.  \n  \nThe collection includes traditional and historic boats and boat models; artifacts such as tools, materials and equipment used in boatbuilding and related crafts; and displays of archival photography and visual research. It continues to grow through workshops, study and creative development. Activities include educational and artistic projects, participation in conferences and festivals, and collaboration with local and international partners to build capacity in the maritime heritage and crafts sector.","city":"Basra","address":"Presidential Palaces Compound (adjacent to Basra Cultural Museum), Basra 61031","website":"https://www.watermuseums.net/network/open-museum-of-water-culture-basra-hub/","phone":"+964 771 125 2536"},"580cdad2-5404-58c6-b0fb-d45e73ede7cb":{"name":"Edirne Museum","description":"The Edirne Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, opened in 1971, consists of archaeology and ethnography sections and a garden exhibition area. Located near the eastern gate of Selimiye Mosque, it stands beside the grounds where Ottoman tombstones are displayed. At the entrance, an Aiol column capital from the Enez temple greets visitors, while the southern section highlights Ottoman water culture with examples such as Edirne fishponds and birdhouses.  \n  \nThe ethnography halls feature Balkan traditional clothes, calligraphy samples, carpets, rugs and reconstructions of spaces such as the Edirne Bridal Room and a Living Room. Among the exhibits are also items personally used by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during his visit to Edirne.  \n  \nThe archaeology section begins with fossils, including rhino and horse remains discovered in the region. Thracian artifacts, such as cavalry relief steles and marble statues, are displayed alongside finds from excavations. Enez, once an important port city linking the Balkans, Anatolia and the Aegean, provides some of the museum’s most valuable objects. Excavations there, conducted since 1971, revealed continuous settlement from the Neolithic Age to the present. Engraved amphorae, terracotta figurines, ceramics, marble pieces, steles and ornaments highlight this collection.  \nArtifacts seized at border gates such as Kapıkule and İpsala, together with a diverse range of Anatolian Civilizations objects, enrich the museum. Glassware, jewellery, terracotta works, statues and thousands of coins are exhibited, offering a wide perspective on the region’s cultural heritage.","city":"Edirne","address":"Meydan Mah. Kadirpaşa Mektep Sok. No:7","website":"https://www.turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2037-edirne-museum/2037/4","phone":"+90 284 225 11 20"},"5a99ecbe-b976-5037-8760-a07c629142f6":{"name":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","description":"The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is one of the foremost museums in the world, with rich holdings comprising artworks from seven millennia - from Ancient Egypt to the late 18th century. The collections of Renaissance and Baroque art are of particular importance.  \n  \nThe KHM’s extensive holdings are on show at different locations: the main building on Ringstrasse houses the Picture Gallery, the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, the Coin Collection and the Kunstkammer.  \n  \nOther collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum are housed in the Neue Burg (i.e. the Collection of Historical Musical Instruments, the Collection of Arms and Armour, and the Ephesus Museum), in Hofburg Palace (the Treasury), and in Schönbrunn Palace (the Collection of Historical Carriages).  \n  \nThe collections on show at Ambras Palace are also part of the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  \n  \nSince January 2001, the Museum of Ethnology on Heldenplatz and the Austrian Theatre Museum on Lobkowitz Square have been incorporated into the KHM.","city":"Vienna","address":"Burgring, 5  \n1010 Vienna","website":"http://www.khm.at/","phone":"+43 1 525 24-0","email":"info@khm.at"},"5c013bcf-6017-560b-8b5d-0ea6f0046da1":{"name":"Istanbul Archaeological Museums","description":"The name Istanbul Archaeological Museums denotes three museums under the same administration: the Archaeological Museum, the Ancient Orient Museum and the Tiled Kiosk Museum. The museum, affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is located in Sultanahmet, on the Osman Hamdi Bey slope connecting Gülhane Park with the Topkapı Palace.  \n  \nIstanbul Archaeological Museums, displaying artifacts from civilisations of different historical periods, is one of the ten most important world-class museums designed and used as a museum building. It is also the first institution in Turkey arranged as a museum. Besides its spectacular collections, the architectural aspects of the buildings and beautiful gardens in which they are situated are of historical and natural importance.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Alemdar Caddesi,  \nOsman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu Sokak,  \n34122 Gülhane/Fatih, Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/arkeoloji","phone":"T +90 212 520 77 40-41","email":"info@istanbularkeoloji.gov.tr"},"5c8c36bb-1ee8-5468-bdc7-ec865b742d71":{"name":"National Museum of Art of Romania","description":"The National Museum of Art of Romania was founded in 1948 with works drawn from local private and public collections, as well as from the royal collection. It has been housed ever since in the former royal palace situated in the very heart of Bucharest. The Museum is home to the largest and finest art collection in the country. The current holdings, which include over 100,000 works, are divided among five curatorial departments, one of them dedicated to Oriental art.  \n  \nSince its establishment in 1954, the Oriental art collection of the Museum has been steadily expanded and consolidated around two main areas of interest: Islamic art, on the one hand, Chinese and Japanese art, on the other. It is the largest Oriental collection housed by a Romanian museum, and it consists of items from the royal collection, the Toma Stelian Museum, as well as gifts and acquisitions. The Department of Oriental Art currently holds over 5,000 objects. The holdings of three other departments of the Museum, namely the Department of Medieval Romanian Art, that of Decorative Art, as well as the Art Collections Museum (which is part of the National Museum of Art of Romania) include notable Islamic artworks, some of which have been selected for this site.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition was closed for a much-needed ample renovation of the building, and will be redisplayed in newly refurbished areas in compliance with European standards of conservation. Meanwhile, exhibitions of Oriental art are being shown regularly. About four hundred carpets covering a wide geographical area and spanning four centuries are at the core of the collection of Islamic art. Even though less extensive, the collections of ceramics, embroideries, and metalwork boast some outstanding works, providing a meaningful insight into distinct areas of Islamic art.  \n  \nAlongside the Art Collections Museum, which holds a considerable number of Islamic artefacts donated over the years by Romanian art collectors, the National Museum of Art of Romania manages two other museums in Bucharest: K. H. Zambaccian Museum and Theodor Pallady Museum.","city":"Bucharest","address":"Calea Victoriei 49-53  \nsector 1  \n010063 Bucureşti","website":"https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/","phone":"+40 21 313 30 30","email":"secretariat@art.museum.ro"},"5db20458-bdcf-5050-98fb-3fb2d1392a0a":{"name":"Museum for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities","description":"When it was founded in 1954, the Museum for Mediterranean and Near East Antiquities comprised collections of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Cypriote antiquities. As a department of the National History Museum, the museum was primarily of an archaeological nature aimed at showing the origins of western civilization. However, in 1982, a large part of the Swedish collections of Islamic art were added to it, in response to increasing understanding of the Mediterranean countries as a region of close relations and interactions over the centuries. With its incorporation, in 1999, in the National Museum of World Culture, an organization consisting of the four Swedish state museums with foreign collections, the focus changed to the diversity of culture within the region of the Mediterranean and in relation to the rest of the world.  \n  \nThe Islamic collection of the museum consists of ceramics, metal works, textiles and miniatures, mostly from Iran and Turkey. It also includes well-known collections such as the so-called Hannibal collection of glass fragments. Although Sweden does not border any Islamic lands, there are many cultural objects in archives, libraries and other museums testifying to its diplomatic and commercial relations with Islamic countries. Examples from these institutions were selected to characterize the development of the Islamic collections in Sweden.  \n  \nThe Islamic collection is displayed in two rooms accessible from the main hall. As an introduction, the Muslim way of life is depicted by objects from a religious context. The exhibition itself displays artefacts from different regions and periods and of various materials according to aesthetic traditions. Located near finds from other Mediterranean cultures the exhibition encourages visitors to understand relationships, traditions and influences.","city":"Stockholm","address":"Fredsgatan 2  \nBox 16008  \n10321 Stockholm, Sweden","website":"http://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/medelhavsmuseet/","phone":"+46 010 456 12 00","email":"info@medelhavsmuseet.se"},"6001ff30-e9b6-573e-a38c-5ac23b472e6c":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","email":"info@slam.org"},"60b02d9b-3b33-59db-9e40-8f5e785c3d52":{"name":"Al-Saraya Museum","description":"The Museum is housed in what was originally a two-storey Ottoman building dated to 1883, which was constructed to accommodate officials.  \n  \nThe building underwent several modifications after the late Ottoman period. In its present state it has seven barrel-vaults and ten rooms organised around a courtyard. In 2006 it was converted into an archaeological museum displaying artefacts discovered during excavations which took place mainly in the governorate of Irbid, north Jordan.  \n  \nThe museum holds objects from the Stone Age through to the Ottoman period in chronological order. These objects are pottery, alabaster, glass vessels and sculptures in addition to Byzantine mosaic floors.","city":"Irbid","address":"P.O.Box 62  \nIrbid, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 7245613","email":"+962 79 5382023 (mobile director)"},"646d2ec3-07ab-58ec-88a5-80936d9d1b9a":{"name":"Ankara Ethnography Museum","description":"The Ethnography Museum is located on a hill donated by the General Directorate of Foundations to the Ministry of National Education. The architect Arif Hikmet (Koyunoğlu) is one of the most renowned architects of the early Republican period. The building has a rectangular plan with a single dome. The stone walls are faced with coarse sandstone, and the marble pediment has carved decoration.  \n  \nA special commission to collect and purchase artefacts was established in Istanbul, headed by Prof. Celal Esad (Arseven) in 1924 and then by Halil Ethem (Eldem), Director of Istanbul Museums, in 1925. 1,250 purchased artefacts were placed in the museum whose construction was completed in 1927. Hamit Zübeyr Koşay was appointed as the director. The equestrian bronze statue of Atatürk that stands in front of the Museum was made by the Italian sculptor B. Conanica at the request of the Ministry of National Education in 1927.  \n  \nOn 15 April 1928, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk) visited the museum and on his request the museum was opened to public on 18 July 1930 on the occasion of the visit of Afghan King Amanullah Han. In November 1938 the inner courtyard was reserved as a temporary mausoleum for Atatürk until his body was transferred to his own mausoleum, the Anıtkabir, in 1953. This section is stil kept as a symbolic cenotaph in Atatürk’s memory. Between 1953 and 1956, renovations were carried out for the International Museums Week in 1956 when the museum was reopened to the public.  \n  \nThe Ethnography Museum houses examples of Turkish art dating from the Seljuq period to modern times.  \n  \nTo the right of the entrance are halls displaying items related to the Anatolian wedding ceremony and bridal dresses, Turkish embroidery, Turkish carpets, Anatolian coffee culture and the circumcision ceremony.  \n  \nTo the left of the entrance are halls housing tile and glass artefacts, objects donated by Besim Atalay, Ottoman calligraphy and some of the finest wooden artefacts from the Seljuq and Emirate periods.","city":"Ankara","address":"Talatpaşa Bulvarı, Ülkü Sokak, 4  \n(Eski Türk Ocağı yanı) Opera  \nAnkara, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=AET01&DistId=MRK","phone":"+90 312 311 30 07","email":"ankaraetnografyamuze@kultur.gov.tr"},"6502b77d-6a33-5675-bcdf-5e8765f63fbd":{"name":"Museum of the Arab World Institute","description":"The 'institut du monde arabe' (Museum of the Arab world) in Paris houses a museum, labeled as a \"Musée de France,\" dedicated to the discovery and promotion of Arab culture. Located in the heart of the French capital, it holds a rich and diverse collection of artworks, historical objects, and cultural artifacts representing the various facets of the Arab world beyond stereotypes, showcasing its full diversity of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and faiths, from its origins to the present day. The museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions explore various themes covering a historical range from ancient Mediterranean civilizations to contemporary times, thanks to a rich collection of Islamic art and ethnographic objects as well as a collection of modern and contemporary artworks. The remarkable architecture of the building, designed by Jean Nouvel, blends tradition and modernity, offering visitors an immersive and captivating experience. The museum also offers educational activities, lectures, film screenings, and special events throughout the year, aiming to raise awareness about the richness and diversity of Arab culture. With its commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, the Institut du monde arabe's museum is a must-visit destination for art enthusiasts and curious individuals eager to explore the treasures of Arab heritage.","city":"Paris","address":"1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard  \nPlace Mohammed V  \n75 236 Paris Cédex 5","website":"https://www.imarabe.org/fr","phone":"+33 (0)1 40 51 38 38"},"6a05cd70-3f9b-5480-8f66-c26e05087784":{"name":"Museums' System of the Province of Bologna","description":"A museums’ network created by Provincia di Bologna, offering a virtual tour through over 100 museums within Bologna and the surrounding area from the Po Valley, and the verdant hills up to the Apennine Mountains. Many different collections have been gathered into one virtual museum, inviting visitors to discover a rich heritage along five thematic paths (Archaeology, Arts, History, Sciences and Identity), and four geographic routes (Bologna, Imola and its surrounds, the Plains, and the Apennine Mountains).  \n  \nOn the agenda, a rich menu to suit all tastes: an intriguing starter is offered by the Etruscan and Roman heritage, set against the vestiges of our prehistoric ancestors. The arts follow, including those of the Middle Ages, illuminated manuscripts; the genius of Vitale da Bologna and the world-renowned Bolognese painters, the Carracci to Giorgio Morandi; the tradition of excellence in music honoured by Mozart, Farinelli and Rossini. Then there is a focus on History with Bologna’s most ancient University and its undisputed supremacy in scientific investigation, encompassing Ulisse Aldrovandi’s herbarium as well as Galvani’s and Marconi’s experiments. Take in the captivating stories of Risorgimento (“Resurgence”) after almost four centuries of magnificent papal authority; the grand events of World War Two, for example the Autumn Campaign of 1944; the subsequent suffering of the people, the struggles and resistance. Last but not least, from those museums dedicated to rural and industrial archaeology, the identity and character of people as rooted in agriculture and handicrafts and the technological innovations of more recent times.","city":"Bologna","address":"Via de’ Castagnoli, 3  \n40126 Bologna  \nItaly","website":"http://www.cittametropolitana.bo.it/cultura/Engine/RAServePG.php/P/267811390414/T/Guida-Musei","phone":"+39 051 6598470","email":"sistemamusei@provincia.bologna.it"},"6b099291-fe17-5f8d-bf0e-cc38d8747876":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the architectural capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"6da08597-8da7-5d02-a911-09a5273c1265":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Museum of National Antiquities (Historiska Museet)**  \nBox 5428  \nNarvavägen 13–17  \n114 84 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 51955600  \n[www.historiska.se](http://www.historiska.se)  \n  \n**Museum of Ethnography (Etnografiska museet)**  \nDjurgårdsbrunnsvägen 34,  \nBox 27140,  \n102 52 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 010 4561299  \n[www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/etnografiskamuseet/](http://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/etnografiskamuseet/)  \n  \n**National Museum of Fine Arts (Nationalmuseum)**  \nBox 16176  \n103 24 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Södra Blasieholmshamnen  \nTel.: +46 8 51954300  \n[www.nationalmuseum.se](http://www.nationalmuseum.se)  \n  \n**Royal Coin Cabinet (Kungl. Myntkabinettet)**  \nSlottsbacken 6,  \nBox 5428  \n114 84 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 51955300  \n[www.myntkabinettet.se](http://www.myntkabinettet.se)  \n  \n**Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren)**  \nSlottsbacken 3,  \n111 30 Stockholm  \nTel: +46 8 4023000  \n[www.lrk.lsh.se](http://www.lrk.lsh.se)  \n  \n**National Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska museet)**  \nBox 27131  \n102 52 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Djurgårdsbrunnsvägen 24  \nTel.: +46 8 51954900  \n[www.sjohistoriska.se](http://www.sjohistoriska.se)  \n  \n**Army Museum (Armémuseum)**  \nBox 14095,  \n104 41 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Riddargatan 13  \nTel.: +46 8 51956310  \n[www.sfhm.se](http://www.sfhm.se)  \n  \n**Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet)**  \nFyrverkarbacken 13,  \nBox 12541,  \n102 29 Stockholm  \nTel: +46 010 4767000  \n[www.riksarkivet.se](http://www.riksarkivet.se)  \n  \n**Hallwyl Museum (Hallwylska Museet)**  \nHamngatan 4,  \n111 47 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 4023099  \n[http://www.hallwylskamuseet.se](http://www.hallwylskamuseet.se)  \n  \n**Museum of Cultural History**  \nBox 1095  \n221 04 Lund  \nAddress for visitors:  \nTegnérsplatsen  \n223 50 Lund  \nTel.: +46 046 350400  \n[www.kulturen.com](http://www.kulturen.com)  \n  \n**Uppsala University Library**  \nBox 510,  \n751 20 Uppsala  \nAddress for visitors: Carolina Rediviva, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1  \nTel.: +46 18 4713900  \n[www.ub.uu.se](http://www.ub.uu.se)"},"70de1706-9586-5047-bb4b-f1cf7fb14120":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Tavira Municipal Museum**  \nTavira, Faro, Portugal  \n  \n**National Museum of Ancient Art**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Moura Municipal Museum**  \nMoura, Beja, Portugal  \n  \n**Santarém Municipal Museum**  \nSantarém, Portugal  \n  \n**Lisbon Cathedral**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Carmo Museum of Archaeology**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**City Museum**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Cathedral of Braga Treasury**  \nBraga, Portugal  \n  \n**Infante D. Henrique Archaeological and Lapidary Museum**  \nFaro, Portugal  \n  \n**Évora Museum**  \nÉvora, Portugal  \n  \n**National Museum of Archaeology**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Queen Leonor Regional Museum**  \nBeja, Portugal  \n  \n**Machado de Castro National Museum**  \nCoimbra, Portugal"},"71396e5b-ca3a-5c08-b428-1959e047ae57":{"name":"Jordan Folklore Museum","description":"The museum is located in the western section of Amman’s Roman theatre. Founded by the Department of Antiquities, it opened in 1975. The museum exhibits items of daily life in the cities and villages and of the Badu (Bedouin) groups who lived on the West and East Bank during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Musical instruments, vessels and tools for domestic activities and craftsmanship illustrate traditional daily life and economic activities of the time. Tents, domestic furniture and items to prepare coffee illustrate the way of life, work and the rules of hospitality among Bedouin men and women. As well as the traditional products of the local society and economy, imported weapons and objects testify to how local communities came into contact with the inventions and commercial products that were changing the world in the 19th and early 20th century.","city":"Amman","address":"Quraysh Street  \nAmman","website":"goo.gl/DNPGbL"},"71715b75-3521-53ee-8c85-91fca0b977d0":{"name":"National Museums Scotland","description":"The collections of what is now National Museums Scotland were built over more than two centuries, with two strands of history coming together in the story of the organisation’s development. First the desire to have a museum reflecting Scottish history and second the wish to have a museum demonstrating international cultures, natural and physical sciences, and decorative art for Scotland.  \n  \nThe Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was founded in 1780, very much in the spirit of the Enlightenment, to collect the archaeology of Scotland. Its collections passed into public ownership in 1851 as the original collections of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. In 1985 the National Museum of Antiquities was amalgamated with the Royal Scottish Museum. The latter was founded in 1854 as the Industrial Museum of Scotland and reflected the impetus of Victorian ideals of education. It started international collecting and research as well as forming close links to the collections and teaching of Edinburgh University, which continue today. Renamed the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, it opened in its first bespoke buildings, designed by Francis Fowke, on Chambers Street in 1866. The 1985 amalgamation created the largest multi-disciplinary museum in Scotland, with 12 million items in its collections and the largest body of curatorial and conservation expertise in the country. Today, National Museums Scotland includes the National Museum of Scotland, the National War Museum, and the National Museums Collections Centre - a research, storage, and conservation facility in Edinburgh, as well as the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, and the National Museum of Rural Life in Lanarkshire.  \n  \nNational Museums Scotland started acquiring material culture from West Asia and North Africa in 1854. Today, material from West Asia comprises more than 4,000 items from a geographical area that spans from Turkey to Central Asia to Yemen, alongside over 500 objects in our collections from North African countries. Dating from the 7th to the 21st centuries, they give an insight into the past and the present of the people living in these regions, particularly through representations of their different crafts, and the skills and social values associated with them. The museum’s collections reflect British and Scottish collectors’ interests in the Islamic world and embody entangled colonial histories and interrelations.","city":"Edinburgh","address":"Chambers Street,  \nEdinburgh EH1 1JF","website":"http://www.nms.ac.uk","phone":"+ 44 (0)300 123 6789","email":"info@nms.ac.uk"},"75fbd82a-86c2-5a79-a047-243f70baa4ed":{"name":"Pera Museum","description":"Inaugurated in 2005, Pera Museum is a private museum founded by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation. The aim of offering a range of diverse high-quality cultural and art services is as important today as when it first opened to the public.  \n  \nSince its inauguration, Pera Museum has collaborated annually with national and international institutions of art and education to hold exhibitions that support young artists. All the exhibitions are accompanied by books, catalogues, audio-visual events and education programmes. Parallel to its seasonal programmes and events, Pera Film offers visitors and film buffs a wide range of screenings that extend from classics and independent films to animated films and documentaries. Pera Film also hosts special shows directly linked to the themes of the temporary exhibitions.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Meşrutiyet Cad, 65  \n34443 Tepebaşi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"www.peramuzesi.org.tr","phone":"+90 212 334 99 00","email":"info@peramuzesi.org.tr"},"7712e497-33e4-5529-91c3-47abff00f87c":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"7df32468-b6ba-51bb-bf7d-829daebb9ef6":{"name":"Mohammed VI Museum for the Civilisation of Water in Morocco","description":"The Mohammed VI Museum of Water Civilisation in Morocco is a historical, scientific, cultural, educational, and recreational space unique to Morocco and Africa. It is the result of the commitment by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs to preserve Morocco’s hydraulic heritage.  \n  \nThe museum was established in recognition of Moroccan ingenuity in water management through tools and techniques historically adapted to the country’s ecosystems and geomorphology. It serves as a tribute to the dam policy and water laws introduced by the late King Hassan II. It acknowledges the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in developing modern water infrastructure, which led to the National Water Strategy for 2030 and the National Water Plan for 2020–2050.  \n  \nThis museum is the first building specifically designed to showcase the history of water management in Morocco. Its inauguration was honoured by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan on 5 January 2017, and it opened to the public in May of that year. In June 2019, the Crown Prince was elected to the steering committee of Wamu-Net, a global network of water museums affiliated with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP). In 2021, he was promoted to the position of vice president.  \n  \nBeyond its primary mission of raising awareness about the importance of water resources, and urging short- and long-term behavioural changes in water usage, the museum encourages visitors to appreciate Moroccan water engineering through the centuries.  \nAs a bridge between past and present, the Mohammed VI Museum for the Civilisation of Water in Morocco invites people to experience the history, heritage, and rich hydraulic culture of Morocco, and to share that heritage through accessible scientific and cultural programs intended for a wide audience.  \n  \nThe museum covers 20,000 square metres. It includes permanent exhibition space; rooms for education, events, and meetings; a cafeteria, gift shop, and offices. Its ideal location at the entrance to the *Palmeraie* (Palm Grove) enhances the social and cultural life of Marrakech.","city":"Marrakech","address":"Entrance of the palm grove circuit Abdelkrim El Khattabi Avenue Road to Casablanca- Marrakech 40000.","website":"www.museeaman.ma","email":"museemohammedvi.aman@gmail.com"},"85fff507-bb71-531b-85a8-f2b6d6324d8e":{"name":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","description":"Built in Honolulu, Hawai'i from 1936–1938, Shangri La overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head and houses Doris Duke’s (1912–1993) collection of Islamic art. Of the many homes that Duke inhabited, Shangri La is the only one that she built from the ground up and filled from the inside out.  \n  \nThe five-acre complex integrates a 14,000-square-foot house, a Playhouse, and a pool, comprising a series of interlocking spaces, both indoors and out: rooms, courtyards, lanais, terraces, gardens, and numerous water features. While design and early construction were underway, Duke traveled extensively in the Middle East, visiting historical monuments and providing the architect with photographs of architectural decoration to be incorporated into Shangri La's design. She also placed large commissions with contemporary artisans in India, Morocco, Iran, and Syria to create art and architectural elements, utilizing traditional forms, patterns, and means of fabrication.  \n  \nFor nearly 60 years, Doris Duke continued to collect Islamic art, ultimately forming a collection of about 2,500 objects, many of which are embedded into the structure of the house. Iranian ceramic tile panels, carved and painted ceilings from Morocco, jali (perforated screen) doors and windows, and textiles and carpets create a living environment of Islamic art and architectural decoration.  \n  \nThe later centuries of production (c. 1600–1940) are better represented, and ceramics, metalwork, wood, glass and textiles are favored over the arts of the book and works on paper. The collection ranges from items of the finest artistic quality, including medieval Persian tilework and painted interiors from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Damascus, to ethnographic objects such as leather saddles and a bedouin-style tent, reflecting Duke's broad and inclusive sense of aesthetics.  \n  \nToday, Shangri La is nationally recognized for its high artistic value and as one of Hawai'i's most architecturally significant homes. It is open to the public for guided tours and educational programs such as lectures, performances and occasional symposia. Shangri La also supports residencies for contemporary artists and for scholars researching Islamic art.","city":"Honolulu","address":"4055 Papu Circle  \nHonolulu, HI 96816","website":"http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/","phone":"(808) 734-1941","email":"shangrilahawaii@ddcf.org"},"89f613d2-8723-5be8-8e46-487f9dae46f4":{"name":"Swiss National Museum","description":"Three museums – the National Museum Zurich, the Château de Prangins and the Forum of Swiss History Schwyz – as well as the collections centre in Affoltern am Albis – are united under the umbrella of the Swiss National Museum (SNM). The permanent exhibitions at the museums present Swiss history from its beginnings to the present, and give an insight into Swiss identities and the rich tapestry of our country’s history and culture. Temporary exhibitions on current topics add to the experience.","city":"Zurich","address":"Swiss National Museum  \nMuseumstrasse, 2  \nP.O. Box 8021  \nZurich  \nSwitzerland","website":"http://www.nationalmuseum.ch","phone":"+41 44 218 65 11","email":"info@nationalmuseum.ch"},"8a41ae85-1217-5a1f-a8f2-68da1d74234d":{"name":"National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art","description":"The National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art is the oldest museum in Algeria and Africa. The collection was set up in 1835, five years after the French occupation, by the then Governor General Marshal Clauzel who appointed Adrien Berbrugger as its first curator. From 1838 onward, the early museum hosted pieces, of Algerian provenance, from Antiquity up until the Ottoman periods. Between 1838 and 1896, this early museum occupied different places of the lower Casbah, before settling in a beautiful park located on the heights of Mustapha Pasha - now known as the Park of Liberty - where it was officially inaugurated in 1897.  \n  \nSince then these two divisions of the museum’s collection, Antiquity and Islamic, have continued to grow. This collection makes it possible to exhibit the history of Algeria from its Libyan-Punic era through to the 20th century. The objects are displayed in two separate buildings: one houses the pre-Islamic collection whilst the other houses the collection of Islamic art, which was inaugurated in May 2003.  \n  \nThe ancient collection is very rich and includes collections of mosaics, sculptures, Libyan and Latin inscriptions, coins and medals, bronze, ivory, bone, ceramics and wooden objects.  \n  \nThe Islamic section was formed from the first collection of 1854, which included Algerian and Oriental objects. It has gradually been enriched by pieces uncovered through archaeological excavations carried throughout the country. This wide-ranging collection includes sculpted plasterboard from 10th century Sedrata, marble or plaster sculptures of the 11th century Qal'a of Beni Hammad as well as the chairs of the 11th century Almoravid mosques in Algiers and the 12th century mosque of Nedroma.  \n  \nThe furniture arts of North Africa is also widely represented in this museum. Shop windows contain Ottoman-era embroidery, clothing, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, chiselled brass and worked repoussé that comes from the urban centres as well as rural areas. Manuscripts and miniatures complete the collection.  \n  \nThe museum’s numismatic collection is exhibited in a reading room that was inaugurated in May 2006.","city":"Algiers","address":"177, bd Krim-Belkacem, Parc de la Liberté  \nAlgiers, Algeria","website":"https://m-culture.gov.dz/index.php/fr/mus%C3%A9es","phone":"+213 0 21 68 11 29","email":"museemna@musee-antiquites.art.dz"},"8ea7243d-fe8e-5011-a9ca-75ebd26660ac":{"name":"Ministry of Culture, Directorate for Cultural Heritage","description":"The Directorate of Cultural Heritage is part of the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to ensure the protection, conservation, restoration, maintenance and promotion of the architectural, archaeological and ethnographic heritage. It is also in charge of the country’s museums and its various artistic treasures.","city":"Rabat","address":"Avenue Michlifen, 17  \nAgdal, Rabat  \nMorocco","website":"www.minculture.gov.ma","phone":"+212 537 274 001 / 03"},"95483cda-d367-5af3-ad0e-2779b97409cb":{"name":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","description":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI) is a cultural organisation based on a Kuwaiti private art collection owned by Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, founder of The al-Sabah Collection and his wife, DAI director general and co-founder Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah.  \n  \nEstablished in 1983, DAI was created to manage The al-Sabah Collection, an esteemed collection of Islamic art on permanent loan to the State of Kuwait under the auspices of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. The collection preserves and presents all aspects of Islamic art and includes more than 20,000 pieces extending from Spain to China, from the 1st – 13th centuries AH/7th – 19th centuries AD.  \n  \nSince its inception, DAI has grown from a single focus organisation to an internationally recognised cultural organisation. DAI’s main activities include:  \n  \n• An annual Cultural Season (lectures, music concerts, forum, workshops, children’s programme, quarterly magazine/journal, quarterly newsletter, cultural expeditions)  \n• Travelling exhibitions and loans  \n• Conservation training programmes  \n• Research and excavation projects  \n  \nWith a highly specialised library, DAI is also involved in the publication of scholarly books on Islamic art and culture.  \n  \nWhile the rehabilitation project of DAI’s buildings at the Kuwait National Museum is underway, the Amricani Cultural Centre is the temporary home of DAI. The Amricani Cultural Centre is the ground for most of the organization’s activities and events, including local temporary exhibitions and DAI’s cultural season events.","city":"Kuwait City","address":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah  \nAmricani Cultural Centre  \nP.O. BOX: 23996 Safat 13100 Kuwait","website":"https://daralatharalislamiyyah.com/en/home-page-en/","phone":"+965 2240 0992","email":"info@darmuseumkw.org"},"9700601a-3046-5e0d-b809-55a161c9b564":{"name":"Museum of Applied Art","description":"The Museum of Applied Art was founded in 1950 as a specialised art museum with an initial collection of some 3,000 art pieces, collected by a painter Ljuba Ivanović. During the years the collection has been enriched by acquisitions, both by purchases and donations. Nowadays, the Museum holds more than 37,000 objects of applied art including pieces of great cultural and artistic value.  \n  \nThe oldest items in the Museum’s collections date from 4th century BC, and belong to the coin collection (coins from ancient Greece) of Metalwork and Jewellery Department, while the collections in Contemporary Applied Art Department contain objects of the most recent artistic production. The Museum also has Wood and Period Furniture Department, Textile and Costume Department, Photography and Print Room Department, Ceramics, Porcelain and Glass Department and Architecture Department.  \n  \nThe Museum has a dynamic exhibition programme, organising exhibitions within the Salon of Contemporary Applied Art, annual thematic study exhibitions as well as hosting domestic and foreign exhibitions. The permanent exhibition At the First Sight presents various items from the Museum’s historical collections.","city":"Belgrade","address":"Vuka Karadžića, 18  \n11000 Belgrade","website":"www.mpu.rs","phone":"+381 11 2626 494","email":"info@mpu.rs"},"a05b0a22-d90a-5e08-85e3-53fd66868e26":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is a pioneering project spotlighting the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the project is the cornerstone for the State of Qatar in its establishment as a global capital of culture.  \n  \nThe 35,500 sq. m museum was designed by I.M. Pei, taking inspiration from the 13th-century *sabil* (ablutions fountain) of the 9th-century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo. The museum comprises a five-level main building and a two-storey Education Wing, connected across a fountain courtyard. The main building’s angular planes form ascending pinnacles, rising around an atrium. Inside, a dome is revealed, concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A window on the building’s north side rises to a height of 54 m., providing dramatic views from all five floors. The ground floor is home to a temporary gallery space for touring international exhibitions and the café, giftshop and Information Services. The museum’s permanent exhibition is installed on two floors of galleries designed by the French firm Jean-Michel Wilmotte & Associés. The fourth floor contains temporary galleries showcasing the research topics of museum staff, using items either not seen in the permanent galleries or with new information to see them in a new way.  \n  \n**Overview of the collections**  \nThe MIA houses artefacts highlighting the creative achievements of the Islamic world's richest cultures and spanning nearly a thousand years. The collection represents the full scope of Islamic art in all media, from manuscripts to ceramics, metalwork, glass, stone, ivory, textiles, wood, precious stones and jewellery.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition of *c.* 850 artefacts offers an insight into the diverse art of the Islamic world. Two floors are dedicated to the exploration of historical eras and interpretation of the themes of Islamic art and material culture, from the 8th century to the cusp of the 19th century.  \n  \nThe MIA also holds thousands more objects, some destined to be seen in future displays and others providing a resource for education and research.  \n  \nHighlights of the collection include: a distinguished group of carpets and textiles, a range of Ayyubid and Mamluk metalwork and enamelled glass, an outstanding strength in early ceramics, a comprehensive collection of astrolabes and scientific instruments, masterpieces of Mughal jewellery and rare manuscripts and miniatures.  \n  \n**The Department of Education and Information**  \nThe department’s main goal is to create materials, programmes and workshops that will engage the public, allowing them to explore the world through Islamic art, promoting a culture of learning within an atmosphere of knowledge and entertainment.  \n  \n**The Curatorial Department**  \nThe department of internationally trained curators is committed to studying, documenting and publicising the MIA’s collection and establishing the MIA as a world-class centre of scholarly research.  \n  \n**The Conservation Department**  \nSet to become a leading regional service centre for museums, the department is committed to restoring, preserving and caring for the collection through the application of innovative scientific methods.  \n  \n**International partnerships**  \nThe MIA is committed to building a network of partnerships around the world and offering institutes and museums collective access to information, research and images. It has strong ties with many world-class museums and collections, including the Louvre, France, the British Museum, UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Germany, the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Gulbenkian, Portugal, and the National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art, Algeria.","city":"Doha","address":"Museum of Islamic Art roundabout, the Corniche  \nPostal Address: P.O. Box 2777  \nDoha, Qatar","website":"http://mia.org.qa/","phone":"+974 4422 4444","email":"infomia@qma.org.qa; educationmia@qma.org.qa; librarymia@qma.org.qa"},"a34751d0-27ea-55db-a4ca-a2403fb9243e":{"name":"Moravian Museum","description":"The Moravian Museum, the second largest and oldest museum in the Czech Republic, was founded in July 1817 by a decree of Emperor Francis I. The museum’s collections include over six million objects, representing valuable scientific material from the fields of literature, music and theatre; geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology and entomology. In addition to documenting scientific history, the museum organises a programme of temporary exhibitions, lectures and other activities, and also features a Children's Museum dedicated to the education and leisure of younger museum visitors.  \n  \nThe Moravian Museum is a contributory organisation of the Ministry of culture of the Czech Republic. A research oriented institution, its main task is to carry out basic and applied research, to disseminate its results by means of teaching, publications or technology transfer, within the framework of the museum’s activities.","city":"Brno","address":"Zelný trh 6,  \n659 37 Brno","website":"http://www.mzm.cz","phone":"+420 533 435 220","email":"mzm@mzm.cz"},"a61ee6e4-a22c-5b69-9e0b-e4320040e5f4":{"name":"Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts","description":"The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was the first museum in Turkey to bring together works of Islamic art. It was founded in 1914 as the Museum of Islamic Foundations and housed in the Imaret building of the Süleymaniye Complex, built by the great Turkish architect Sinan in the 16th century. The museum was renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts after the declaration of the republic and moved to its present location in the 16th-century Ibrahim Paşa Palace in 1983.  \n  \nThe core collection of the museum comprises Islamic artworks collected from across the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. These works include carpets, manuscripts, metalwork, glassware, ceramics, woodwork and ethnographic materials. The collection represents an extensive period ranging from the rise of Islam to the 20th century and the vast geographical area ruled by the Ottoman Empire.  \n  \nThe carpets, numbering some 1,700, in their quality and variety constitute one of the most important collections of carpets in the world, so that the museum is sometimes thought of as a carpet museum. But the museum also has other outstanding collections: the manuscripts collection represents all the ruling Islamic states from the AH 1st / AD 7th century to the 20th century across a wide geographical area. The metalwork collection allows visitors to follow the development of Turkish metalwork in Anatolia and the rich collection of woodwork ranges from the AH 3rd / AD 9th century to the Ottoman period. The glassware and pottery collections include artefacts recovered during excavations at renowned Abbasid centres such as Samarra and Keshan (Iran) and Raqqa (Syria) as well as artefacts from the Anatolian Turkish period. The stonework, most bearing inscriptions, includes examples from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Mamluk, Seljuq and Ottoman periods. The ethnographic department is the newest section.  \n  \nThe museum also organises, hosts and participates in temporary national and international exhibitions.  \n  \nAfter the grand restoration works The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts re-opened in April 2014, exactly 100 years after its foundation, with special exhibitions to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.","city":"İstanbul","address":"İbrahim Paşa Sarayı Atmeydanı Sok. No: 46  \nSultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/tiem","phone":"+90 212 518 18 05 / 06","email":"tiem@tiem.gov.tr"},"af01a84d-b174-5718-b9a7-b741c8957086":{"name":"The British Museum","description":"The British Museum was established by Act of Parliament in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all “studious and curious persons”. The founding collection was that of Sir Hans Sloane, a wealthy physician and collector. The original British Museum comprised three departments: Printed Books; Manuscripts (including coins); and Natural and Artificial Productions, which included everything from sculpture to mineral samples and zoological specimens. In January 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the public.  \n  \nAs a product of the Enlightenment, the museum's job was to be a storehouse of knowledge for the use and benefit of the public, advancing all fields of scholarship. The museum therefore aimed to collect all kinds of material; it remains one of the few places in the world in which it is possible to see the world under one roof. During the 19th century the museum acquired representative collections of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, as well as material from across the Islamic world.  \n  \nThe museum itself had to grow to offer space to display the growing collections. Between 1823 and 1847 the original building was replaced by four large wings built around a central courtyard. In 1854 construction began on the iconic Round Reading Room in the central courtyard. The natural history collections were given their own home in the new Museum of Natural History in 1881. By 1973 the British Library and British Museum were administratively separated, and in 1999 the new British Library building opened at St Pancras. The British Museum site was expanded and modernised. In 2000 the Great Court opened, envisioned as a sunny piazza at the centre of the building, with up-to-date facilities such as lecture theatres, an education centre and facilities for school children, as well as restaurants and shops. In 2014 the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened to the public, offering state-of-the-art facilities to care for, manage, research and display the collections.","city":"London","address":"Great Russell St.,  \nLondon WC1B 3DG  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.britishmuseum.org","phone":"+44 20 7323 8000 / 8299","email":"information@britishmuseum.org"},"afcd0644-a551-5a70-bc94-53544c095587":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","email":"info@slam.org"},"afffcb31-4567-5a53-ab82-c5452bdcf51e":{"name":"Karatay Madrasa Tilework Museum","description":"Karatay Madrasa was built in 1251 (649, H.) by Emir Celaleddin Karatay during the period of II. İzzettin Keykavus. Its architect is unknown. The madrasa, which was also used during the Ottoman era, was abandoned at the end of the 19th century. Karatay Madrasa, which holds an important place in the tile artefacts of the Anadolu Seljukid period, was opened to visitors in 1955 as the Tile Artefacts Museum.  \n  \nThe single-storied madrasa was built in the closed madrasa type in the Seljukid Era for *hadith* and *tafsir* education. Entering through the door, you arrive in a courtyard covered with a dome (now open), and from there you go through another door to the madrasa. The madrasa’s courtyard is covered by a dome with an opening to provide light and air, and is decorated with mosaic tiles. Short verses are written on the upper parts of the walls, on the dome pulley and on panels of cell doors.  \n  \nBasmala and Ayat-el Kursi inscriptions are located in the arches of the main house, through a tunnel vault to the west of the building. Triangles – transitional architectural elements of the dome – include the names of the prophets Muhammad, Jesus, Moses and David, and the names of the four caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman and Ali. The domed cell to the left of the iwan is the tomb of Celaleddin Karatay.  \n  \nMost of the mosaic tiles that once covered the walls are gone. The colours of the remaining tiles are turquoise, dark blue and black.  \n  \nThe artefacts exhibited are from the Anatolian Seljukid and Ottoman periods. Tiles, plaster works, ceramic plates, candle holders and unglazed ceramics are exhibited in the chamber where the tomb of Celaleddin Karatay stands, and in the students’ cells to the south. The tiles from the Kubad-Abad Palace were made using lustre and underglaze techniques, and cross, semi-cross, eight-pointed star and square shapes.  \n  \nThe iwan contains tile remnants from the Seljukid era, and ceramics from the Seljukid and Ottoman periods. In the domed hall glass plates, tile pieces, ceiling fragments from Eşrefoğlu Mosque, and ceramics from the Ottoman era are displayed.","city":"Konya","address":"Alaeddin Meydanı  \nKonya, Turkey","phone":"+90 332 351 19 14"},"b01aedf8-4844-5526-8c45-e7dc4bd7a559":{"name":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation","description":"The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation aims to display, interpret, research and further develop the museum's collections for a wide range of local, national and international audiences, and to stimulate knowledge, appreciation and enjoyment of Islamic art, history, science and culture.  \n  \nThe magnificent building that houses the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation first opened in 1987 as the Souq al-Majarrah and quickly became a popular landmark, both among the people of Sharjah themselves and visiting tourists. The building was only the second of its kind in the Gulf region, after Sharjah’s “’New”’ or “Central’’ Souq constructed in 1977, to use traditional, Arab-Islamic design elements in its ground-plan and décor. The building with its impressive architecture and attractive design features was subsequently renovated and reopened in 2008 as the Museum of Islamic Civilisation. Its most outstanding feature is its majestic, gilt central dome, decorated on the inside with an intricate mosaic depicting the night sky and the signs of the zodiac.  \n  \nThe building now transformed into a state-of-the art cultural venue, the new **Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation**, houses more than five thousand exquisite Islamic artefacts from all over the Islamic World, arranged according to themes over seven spacious galleries and display areas.  \n  \nOn the ground floor you can visit the **Abu Bakr Gallery of Islamic Faith**, the **Ibn al Haitham Gallery of Islamic Science and Innovation**, a prominent display of **Islamic Coinage**, and the **Al Majarrah Gallery for temporary exhibitions** which is scheduled to hold regular exhibitions of international standing.  \n  \nThe entire first floor of the **Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation** is devoted to **Islamic Art**. Four spacious galleries take the visitor on a journey of artistic discovery which starts in the early Islamic period and leads all the way to modern times. Start your explorations with a visit to our state-of-the-art audiovisual show. Enjoy stunning images from all over the Muslim world and learn about the artistic achievements of its calligraphers and artisans.","city":"Sharjah","address":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Corniche Road, Al Majarrah Area, Sharjah.  \nPostal address: P.O.BOX 39939, Sharjah.","website":"https://www.sharjahmuseums.ae/","phone":"+97165655455","email":"info@islamicmuseum.ae"},"b43ae2c6-2060-5819-bd1c-dd9ca66b9f11":{"name":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","description":"With 100,000 objects dating from ancient times to the present, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States. A museum of international stature as well as a vital part of Southern California, LACMA shares its vast collections through exhibitions, public programs, and research facilities that attract nearly a million visitors annually.  \n  \nLACMA’s seven-building complex is located on twenty acres in the heart of Los Angeles, halfway between the ocean and downtown. The campus is undergoing a ten-year expansion and renovation known as the Transformation and designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.  \n  \nLACMA’s collections encompass the geographic world and virtually the entire history of art. The museum houses a highly significant collection of Islamic art. These widely diverse arts, from an area extending from southern Spain to Central Asia, trace the distinctive visual imagination of Islamic artists over a period of fourteen hundred years. The collection consists of over 1,700 works, of which some 150 examples are on view; these include glazed ceramics, inlaid metalwork, enameled glass, carved wood and stone, and manuscript illustration, illumination, and calligraphy. Particular strengths of the collection are glazed pottery and tiles from Iran and Turkey; glass, especially from the late seventh to the mid-thirteenth century; and Persian and Turkish arts of the book.  \n  \nThe museum began to concentrate seriously on Islamic art in 1973, with the acquisition of the Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, the generous gift of Joan Palevsky. Although the Heeramaneck collection forms the nucleus of the Islamic holdings, the focus and scope of the collection have developed considerably since 1973. Two important additions, both gifts, occurred in the 1980s. In 1985 the noted collector Edwin Binney, 3rd, bequeathed more than one hundred works, in particular examples of the arts of the book and ceramics of the Ottoman period. Approximately fifty glass objects, primarily of the early Islamic period, from Hans and Varya Cohn's splendid collection were given to the museum in 1988. The collection has been augmented further over the past two decades through gift and purchase, most notably the acquisition in 2002 of the Madina Collection of Islamic Art, made possible in large part by a generous gift from longtime LACMA benefactor and Trustee Camilla Chandler Frost. Its addition has created a new international focus on Los Angeles and on LACMA.","city":"Los Angeles","address":"5905 Wilshire Boulevard  \nLos Angeles, CA 90036","website":"http://www.lacma.org/","phone":"323 857 6000","email":"publicinfo@lacma.org"},"b4586981-2102-51f3-a3a7-5094a3b23509":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Numismatic Museum of the al-Maghreb Bank**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**National Library**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**Badi Palace**  \nMarrakesh, Morocco  \n  \n**Royal Library**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**Ethnographic Museum**  \nTetouan, Morocco  \n  \n**Archeological Museum**  \nTetouan, Morocco  \n  \n**Museum of Ceramics**  \nSalé, Morocco  \n  \n**Kasbah Museum**  \nTangiers, Morocco","city":"Rabat, Marrakech, Tetouan, Salé, Tangiers"},"bd5ab87c-f83d-5fb3-87a9-cae4d57dff07":{"name":"Sharjah Heritage Museum","description":"Sharjah Heritage Museum first opened its doors in 2005. It has been renovated and re-opened in 2012 in Bait Saeed Al Taweel Al Shamsi, in the Heart of Sharjah.  \n  \nThe museum offers a great chance to engage in the rich heritage of Sharjah and Emirati culture, with a focus on lifestyle, deep rooted customs such as hospitality, traditions, trade and traditional knowledge. A visitor can explore the diverse environments of coast, desert and mountain that was naturally reflected in their lifestyle, habits and crafts. The museum provides a child-friendly atmosphere, with a series of folklore tales, old sayings and puzzles.","city":"Sharjah","address":"P O Box 39939, Al-Layyeh, Sharjah, UAE","website":"https://www.sharjahmuseums.ae/","phone":"+971 6 5680006","email":"info@sma.gov.ae"},"c0c2fa4f-c38c-578e-8cc1-4703cc60b8a9":{"name":"Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts","description":"The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was the first museum in Turkey to bring together works of Islamic art. It was founded in 1914 as the Museum of Islamic Foundations and housed in the Imaret building of the Süleymaniye Complex, built by the great Turkish architect Sinan in the 16th century. The museum was renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts after the declaration of the republic and moved to its present location in the 16th-century Ibrahim Paşa Palace in 1983.  \n  \nThe core collection of the museum comprises Islamic artworks collected from across the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. These works include carpets, manuscripts, metalwork, glassware, ceramics, woodwork and ethnographic materials. The collection represents an extensive period ranging from the rise of Islam to the 20th century and the vast geographical area ruled by the Ottoman Empire.  \n  \nThe carpets, numbering some 1,700, in their quality and variety constitute one of the most important collections of carpets in the world, so that the museum is sometimes thought of as a carpet museum. But the museum also has other outstanding collections: the manuscripts collection represents all the ruling Islamic states from the AH 1st / AD 7th century to the 20th century across a wide geographical area. The metalwork collection allows visitors to follow the development of Turkish metalwork in Anatolia and the rich collection of woodwork ranges from the AH 3rd / AD 9th century to the Ottoman period. The glassware and pottery collections include artefacts recovered during excavations at renowned Abbasid centres such as Samarra and Keshan (Iran) and Raqqa (Syria) as well as artefacts from the Anatolian Turkish period. The stonework, most bearing inscriptions, includes examples from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Mamluk, Seljuq and Ottoman periods. The ethnographic department is the newest section.  \n  \nThe museum also organises, hosts and participates in temporary national and international exhibitions.  \n  \nAfter the grand restoration works The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts re-opened in April 2014, exactly 100 years after its foundation, with special exhibitions to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.","city":"İstanbul","address":"İbrahim Paşa Sarayı Atmeydanı Sok. No: 46  \nSultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/tiem","phone":"+90 212 518 18 05 / 06","email":"tiem@tiem.gov.tr"},"c4647cf3-9e83-5e5e-9a5b-4af7ed883bb1":{"name":"The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts","description":"The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts (The Khanenko Museum) keeps the key national collection of world arts in Ukraine. It was established in 1919 on the basis of rich private collection of art and antiquities made up by a couple of outstanding Ukrainian art amateurs, collectors and philanthropists Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. The historical private mansion of the Khanenkos, built in late 1880s, is a particular object of interest and fascination due to its exquisite stylised interiors.  \n  \nToday the museum holds more than 25 000 works of painting, sculpture, prints as well as various kinds of applied arts of Europe (14th -19th century), Western, Central and Eastern Asia (3rd century BC – 20th century) and the Ancient World (4th millennium BC – 4th century). The world-famous rarities, four oldest Byzantine “Sinai” icons from 6th and 7th centuries, are an important part of the museum collection and display.  \n  \nThe museum permanent exhibition area is about 1300 m2. There are also two halls for temporary exhibitions with total area of 150 m2 that host Ukrainian and international museum art projects. In coming years the museum plans to enlarge its exhibition, educational, and depository areas by adding a new contemporary building in the yard.  \n  \nBeing the leading Ukrainian institution of informal education the Khanenko museum offers a wide spectrum of programs for adults, youth and children, visitors with disabilities. A new accessible official museum website in Ukrainian and English is currently under development planned to be launched in November 2019.","city":"Kyiv","address":"Tereshchenkivska Street 15-17  \n01004","website":"https://www.khanenkomuseum.kiev.ua/en/main","phone":"+38044 2350206"},"c79c9bf0-7954-5ad4-95e9-6020467c3765":{"name":"Istanbul Water Museum (İstanbul Su Müzesi)","description":"Established in January 2021 within Topkar Inc., the Istanbul Water Museum is dedicated to water, water civilisation and the cultural heritage of the Turkish bath.  \n  \nThe Topçu family, which owns the company, has cultivated for four generations a tradition of preserving everyday household objects. As one of Türkiye’s leading manufacturers of bathroom and kitchen fittings, the family united this passion with their profession and began collecting faucets, water vessels and related objects over 25 years ago, laying the foundation of the museum’s collection. In 2008, they became officially registered collectors with the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.  \n  \nThe collection encompasses themes such as the relationship between water and humanity; fountains; sebils and faucets; water and belief; water and healing; cleanliness, bathing and hammam culture; and Istanbul’s famous spring waters. The collection includes a wide range of water-related objects, manuscripts, ephemera, postcards, engravings, paintings, calligraphy, marbling (*ebru*) and miniature artworks. Artefacts dating from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman and early Republican eras are exhibited chronologically and, in some sections, thematically across two galleries totalling 800 square metres. The Istanbul Water Museum is a member and Türkiye’s representative of the UNESCO Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-Net).  \n  \nTopkar regards the museum as a sustainable social responsibility project aimed at promoting water and hammam culture, preserving endangered traditions, fostering public awareness of water use and creating lasting cultural memory. The Topkar family celebrates its 40th anniversary with this meaningful initiative.","city":"Istanbul","address":"İkitelli OSB. Mh. Hürriyet Bulvarı No:54 Başakşehir-İstanbul-Türkiye 34490","website":"http://www.istanbulsumuzesi.org","phone":"+90 486 20 20"},"c8825cec-041d-5069-bbce-82c394d5e619":{"name":"National Museum Oman","description":"The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, established by royal decree in 2013 and opened July 30, 2016, is the Sultanate's flagship cultural institution, showcasing the nation’s heritage from the earliest human settlement in the Oman Peninsula some two million years ago through to the present day. As a national institution with global outreach, the museum is dedicated to ensuring that Oman’s cultural heritage is understood and appreciated not only within the Sultanate, but also internationally. Further, it aims to provide opportunities for cultural expression, innovation, and the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge from one generation to the next.  \n  \nThe museum is located in the heart of Muscat in a purpose-designed building. The total area of the building is 13,700 square metres (147,000 sq ft), including 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) allocated for 14 permanent galleries – The Land and the People Gallery, Maritime History Gallery, Arms and Armour Gallery, Aflaj Gallery, Currency Gallery, Prehistory and Ancient History Galleries, Splendours of Islam Gallery, Oman and the World Gallery, Intangible Heritage Gallery and Renaissance Gallery, among others. A further 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) are allocated for temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nThe National Museum houses 5,466 objects and offers 43 digital immersive experiences, a fully equipped Learning Centre, conservation facilities, an ultra-high definition cinema, and discovery areas for children. It features an integrated infrastructure for special needs and is the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille script for the visually impaired. The museum contains a voluminous collection of prehistoric metallic artefacts. It also houses the region’s first open-plan museum storage concept, where visitors can learn about the various processes that artefacts go through before they are put on display.","city":"Muscat","address":"P.O.Box: (1105)  \n113 Muscat","website":"https://www.nm.gov.om/","email":"booking@nm.gov.om"},"c9284900-9055-5081-9abe-863fad506cdc":{"name":"‘Ajlun Castle Museum","description":"This small museum was established in 1993 and renovated in 2003. It is located inside ‘Ajlun Castle. The artefacts displayed in the museum are limited to finds from ‘Ajlun district and date from the Neolithic to the Islamic periods. The collection consists mainly of pottery vessels, glass bottles, stone tools, metalwork, coins and inscriptions found in and around the castle.","city":"‘Ajlun","address":"P.O.B. 86  \n‘Ajlun, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 6420206"},"ca0e325c-0944-502c-ac42-7a2a27464669":{"name":"Museum of the Arab World Institute","description":"The 'institut du monde arabe' (Museum of the Arab world) in Paris houses a museum, labeled as a \"Musée de France,\" dedicated to the discovery and promotion of Arab culture. Located in the heart of the French capital, it holds a rich and diverse collection of artworks, historical objects, and cultural artifacts representing the various facets of the Arab world beyond stereotypes, showcasing its full diversity of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and faiths, from its origins to the present day. The museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions explore various themes covering a historical range from ancient Mediterranean civilizations to contemporary times, thanks to a rich collection of Islamic art and ethnographic objects as well as a collection of modern and contemporary artworks. The remarkable architecture of the building, designed by Jean Nouvel, blends tradition and modernity, offering visitors an immersive and captivating experience. The museum also offers educational activities, lectures, film screenings, and special events throughout the year, aiming to raise awareness about the richness and diversity of Arab culture. With its commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, the Institut du monde arabe's museum is a must-visit destination for art enthusiasts and curious individuals eager to explore the treasures of Arab heritage.","city":"Paris","address":"1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard  \nPlace Mohammed V  \n75 236 Paris Cédex 5","website":"https://www.imarabe.org/fr","phone":"+33 (0)1 40 51 38 38"},"cda4e9a0-f14d-5a98-b6ce-3f8077d29e19":{"name":"MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art","description":"The MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art – is one of the foremost museums of its kind in the world. The building located on Stubenring in the 1st district of Vienna was founded in 1863 as the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry) and today houses a unique collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art.  \n  \nThe MAK collection encompasses European and international decorative arts ranging from the Early Middle Ages to the present. The museum's main holdings include textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and metalwork as well as exquisite objects of the Wiener Werkstätte (craftworks) and Art Nouveau. Its collection of Oriental carpets and East Asian art are of the highest international significance.  \n  \nAmong the objects from the Islamic world, the collection of Oriental carpets is pre-eminent, and the museum holds the largest collection worldwide of paintings of the *Hamzanama* from the era of the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. Important examples of the applied arts are preserved in the MAK Asia Collection, most notably include objects from Iran and the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Vienna","address":"Stubenring, 5  \nA-1010 Wien  \nAustria","website":"http://www.mak.at","phone":"+43 1 711 36-248","email":"office@MAK.at"},"ce74d7b6-89ad-505d-b715-aceee4f0de65":{"name":"Water Museum","description":"Established on December 29, 2014, by ActionAid Bangladesh, the Water Museum is the first of its kind in Asia, located in Pakhimara village, Nilganj Union, Kalapara Upazila, Patuakhali District. Operated by the Kalapara coastal community, it stands as a unique cultural and educational institution dedicated to Bangladesh’s rivers, water heritage, and climate change awareness.  \n  \nThe museum’s collections include water samples from 87 transboundary rivers—such as the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, and Buriganga—preserved in glass jars, alongside samples from 57 international rivers. Exhibits display a wide range of material culture, ranging from fishing equipment, clay utensils, bamboo baskets, and other artefacts, all of which come from riverine communities, reflecting their traditional, water-dependent way of life. Photographs, infographics, and documentaries illustrate the history of over 700 rivers and the mounting threats of pollution, encroachment, salinity intrusion, and climate change. A large river map, models of river systems, and displays about flora, fauna, and policy frameworks enrich its educational role.  \n  \nBeyond exhibitions, the museum organises annual conventions on the Right to Water, “Blue Walks,” school-based climate clubs, and international water conferences, providing platforms for cross-border dialogue and advocacy under the “Water Commons” campaign. Since its inception, the museum has welcomed thousands of visitors, from schoolchildren and families, to experts and policymakers, while engaging an even wider audience through its online presence.  \n  \nThe Water Museum embodies a call to action: preserving water heritage, amplifying community voices, and inspiring policy shifts toward sustainable water governance and river rights in Bangladesh and South Asia.","city":"Patuakhali","address":"Water Museum, Pakhimara Bazar, Kalapara, Patuakhali, Bangladesh","website":"http://watermuseum.net/","phone":"+880-1749053033","email":"aab.mail@actionaid.org"},"ce882b84-4e7b-5d76-9fe9-a1770bcc0da5":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"d077cb9e-6c63-5943-b0b0-ef3de9ccf2af":{"name":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","description":"In striving to provide a synoptic vision of the arts of the entire Islamic world, and since the 1970s, Professor Nasser D. Khalili has assembled his collection of Islamic art under the auspices of The Khalili Family Trust. With holdings of more than 28,000 objects documenting the range of artistic production of the Islamic lands over a period of some 1400 years, the Collection now ranks among the best in the world and represents a new generation of Islamic art collections.  \n  \nThe Collection includes an outstanding array of manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an and of illustrated manuscripts, and the coverage of the decorative arts – ceramics, textiles, glass, metalwork and lacquer as well as seals and coins – is comprehensive.  \n  \nThe holdings of manuscripts and folios of the Holy Qur’an are the first to have been assembled systematically in order to illustrate the whole history of Qur’an production, both in terms of time span and geographical range – from the 8th to the 20th centuries, and from Morocco to China. Similar sequences have been assembled for painting and the decorative arts. Glass, ceramics and metalwork, for example, are represented in the full range of techniques from the pre-Islamic period through to the 19th century.  \n  \nLater Islamic art has been given the same level of attention. The wealth of important objects and manuscripts from later periods in the Collection shows that much art worthy of our attention on aesthetic as well as historical and intellectual grounds was produced in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Another important art form of this period is Islamic lacquer, represented in the Collection by more than 500 examples.  \n  \nThe catalogue of the Collection is an unprecedented 27-volume series, of which several are now published, and when completed will form a unique survey of the field to date. *Studies in the Khalili Collection* is a second series of publications related to the Islamic art collection, presenting more detailed analysis of certain objects.","city":"London","website":"http://www.khalilicollections.org","email":"info@nourhouse.com"},"d07d9cf7-6371-548f-85b6-467c44c6008b":{"name":"National Museum Oman","description":"The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, established by royal decree in 2013 and opened July 30, 2016, is the Sultanate's flagship cultural institution, showcasing the nation’s heritage from the earliest human settlement in the Oman Peninsula some two million years ago through to the present day. As a national institution with global outreach, the museum is dedicated to ensuring that Oman’s cultural heritage is understood and appreciated not only within the Sultanate, but also internationally. Further, it aims to provide opportunities for cultural expression, innovation, and the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge from one generation to the next.  \n  \nThe museum is located in the heart of Muscat in a purpose-designed building. The total area of the building is 13,700 square metres (147,000 sq ft), including 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) allocated for 14 permanent galleries – The Land and the People Gallery, Maritime History Gallery, Arms and Armour Gallery, Aflaj Gallery, Currency Gallery, Prehistory and Ancient History Galleries, Splendours of Islam Gallery, Oman and the World Gallery, Intangible Heritage Gallery and Renaissance Gallery, among others. A further 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) are allocated for temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nThe National Museum houses 5,466 objects and offers 43 digital immersive experiences, a fully equipped Learning Centre, conservation facilities, an ultra-high definition cinema, and discovery areas for children. It features an integrated infrastructure for special needs and is the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille script for the visually impaired. The museum contains a voluminous collection of prehistoric metallic artefacts. It also houses the region’s first open-plan museum storage concept, where visitors can learn about the various processes that artefacts go through before they are put on display.","city":"Muscat","address":"P.O.Box: (1105)  \n113 Muscat","website":"https://www.nm.gov.om/","email":"booking@nm.gov.om"},"d2b9c791-32d7-590a-9a1b-3f6766d360d6":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"d321bef5-3599-590f-a696-aa3a0d57d455":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded in 1931 by Antoni Benaki, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek art from the Neolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos Street, the historical archives in the Delta house, the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antoni Benaki during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the Ottoman period and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, *tiraz* textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. The second gallery exhibits objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nThe third gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century Cairo mansion and its fountain, *qamariyya* windows and a *mashrabiyya* screen. Other exhibits include Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The last gallery presents arms and armour, and Qajar jewellery collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains *in situ* at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \nAthens  \nGreece","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"d9f6c12d-ca03-5d6e-b33c-c1a37daec1fa":{"name":"Glasgow Museums","description":"Although not the capital, Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. It prides itself on its multi-cultural scene with a prosperous Muslim community representing the largest non-white Scottish group in the city and in Scotland. The Glasgow Museums collection is the biggest managed by any local authority in the United Kingdom and one of a handful of municipal collections that are recognized to have national importance. This service was founded in 1854 with the McLellan collection of European paintings, which was donated to the people of Glasgow by Archibald McLellan together with a building to house it. At present Glasgow manages thirteen public museums covering a wide range of subjects.  \n  \nGlasgow’s Islamic collections come from all over the world with objects from Africa, Spain, the Middle East and Central Asia. The oldest items date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The earliest objects to enter the museums’ collections were donated in the 1870s. Though many of these are private donations, some were purchased by the museum service. The Islamic collections are mainly housed at The Burrell Collection, The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  \n  \nThe main strength of the Islamic collections lies in the large donation of Sir William Burrell and his wife, who gifted their massive and varied collection to Glasgow in 1944. It includes Iranian and Mughal Indian ceramics and carpets, Turkish and Uzbek textiles and embroideries, and Hispano-Moresque lustrewares. The other Islamic collections of Glasgow Museums include objects from Mughal India, Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt and Syria, the Ottoman Middle East, and 19th century Berber and Arab North Africa. In addition to all of the above, Glasgow Museums is interested in developing its contemporary Islamic collections by welcoming donations of modern Islamic arts and crafts, as well as strengthening the other areas within its Islamic collections.","city":"Glasgow","address":"The Burrell Collection  \nPollok Country Park  \n2060 Pollokshaws Road  \nG43 1AT  \nGlasgow, United Kingdom","website":"http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/","phone":"+44 141 2872550"},"dbb0a6e3-2c73-51cc-8f47-ebf68dde4d73":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The *azulejo* is among the most characteristic expressions of Portuguese fine arts and one of the elements that clearly identify the Portuguese culture and aesthetic language. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo acts as a showcase for the immense ceramic heritage found in many places throughout Portugal. It is one of the most important museums in the country and is unparalleled in Portugal this is due not only to its unique collection but also for being located in a peerless work of Portuguese religious architecture, the ancient Convent of Madre de Deus (Mother of God), founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458‒1525). Following major works undertaken on the orders of King D. João III (1502‒66), further works followed in the reigns of D. Pedro II (1648‒1706) and D. João V (1689‒1750). Gilt-wood carvings covered the altars and picture frames, articulating with the blue of the *azulejo*.  \n  \nThe collection covers the production of *azulejo* from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. In addition to the*azulejo*, the collection integrates ceramics, porcelain and *faience* of the 19th and 20th centuries.  \n  \nThe route through the exhibition allows the visitor to enjoy an overview of the history of *azulejo* production in Portuguese territory up to the present day, as well as to visit some parts of the ancient convent, with particular reference to the Church, the chapter-house, the cloisters and the Chapel of Saint Anthony.  \n  \nThe exhibition begins with the Islamic origins of the *azulejo* seen in both its name and the techniques and decoration used. From this brief introduction, the route follows a chronological organisation. The highlights of the exhibition include an *azulejo* made in Seville (c.1508‒1509) with the armillary sphere (King D. Manuel’s personal symbol); the retable of *Nossa Senhora da Vida* (Lisbon, c. 1580); the pattern compositions and the altar frontals of the 17th century: The *Leopard Hunt* and *Singerie: The Marriage of the Hen* (Lisbon, 17th century); commissions of blue-and-white tiles to the Netherlands (also covering the walls of the Church); and the Portuguese production, the *Grand Panorama of Lisbon* (Lisbon, c. 1700); as well as works by contemporary artists.  \n  \nThe National Tile Museum has one of the finest and most complete collections of contemporary authorial revetments, displaying the multiple proposals produced in recent times.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisbon  \nPortugal","website":"http://mnazulejo.imc-ip.pt/","phone":"+351 218 100 340","email":"mnazulejo@imc-ip.pt"},"dcd4bbe2-60f3-5f7f-8e3a-0eba386ac5bf":{"name":"Sidi Kacem al-Jalizi Museum","description":"Built during the 9th / 15th century by Sidi Kacem, the mausoleum has been transformed into a museum of ceramics. It consists of an entrance hall leading to a ceramics workshop, and to a patio surrounded by rooms and a funeral space. The courtyard galleries and alcoves have been converted into exhibition spaces for ceramic objects. This collection traces different eras of Muslim history in Tunisia, and also includes objects of Persian origin.  \n  \nCeramic objects dating back to the Aghlabid era can be identified by the use of metallic lustre, archaic Kufic script, and stylised zoomorphic and anthropomorphic drawings as decoration. The pieces dating back to the Fatimid period are illustrated with animated scenes in blue on a white background.  \n  \nHafsid ceramics are distinguished by the absence of illustrated scenes in favour of geometric motifs with floral decoration in which cobalt blue and manganese brown dominate. There are also ceramic tiles dating back to the Ottoman era, some of which are decorated with bouquets of flowers.","city":"Tunis","address":"Musée de Sidi Kacem Al-Jalizi  \nrue du 9 Avril  \nTunis, Tunisia","phone":"+216 71 321452"},"defa425b-fe47-5a8e-bb82-33721be61de9":{"name":"Batha Museum","description":"Built in 1885, the original building was a courthouse and summer residence of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Hassan I before being renovated as a museum in 1915. The Batha Museum brings together archaeological collections, architectural elements and ethnographic objects relating to the city of Fez and its surrounding area. Since a reorganisation in 2006, the museum’s theme has revolved around spiritual life and the art of living.  \n  \nThrough large rooms overlooking the patio and garden, the tour begins with the city’s Islamic origins: manuscripts illuminated with gold leaf, liturgical wooden objects, planispheric brass astrolabes – and a rare example of a leather astrolabe dial. One section is dedicated to architectural elements. Wood is featured: friezes, panels, lintels and other corbels from different dynasties display Moroccan craftsmanship. Besides their artistic value, some pieces are historical and archaeological treasures, such as the beam dating from AD 877, the oldest wood in Islamic Morocco, evidence of the city of Kairouan’s artistic influences.  \n  \nZelliges (handmade terracotta tiles) are a distinctive feature of Moroccan-Andalusian Islamic architecture, with excellent collections here in the Batha Museum, with some dating back to the 14th century.  \n  \nAlso on exhibit are traditional arts from Fez, whose richness and variety are manifested in a collection of delicate embroidery in a single thread colour, and a variety of ornaments and wedding dresses for brides typically from the cities. There is also a rich collection of tin-based ceramics enamelled in a monochrome blue-grey.  \n  \nVisitors can discover rural crafts and museum-quality objects like jewellery and pottery outside the city of Fez.","city":"Fès","address":"Ksar El Batha  \nPlace du 11 janvier  \nFès, Morocco","phone":"+212 53 563 41 16"},"e0396062-330b-5c15-8ec4-2f6f68e8b2c0":{"name":"Aga Khan Museum","description":"The Aga Khan Museum presents and collects art from historically significant Muslim civilizations as well as contemporary Muslim communities and diasporas around the world.  \n  \nThe Aga Khan Museum has three primary exhibition spaces. On the first floor, the Collections Gallery and Bellerive Room are dedicated to showcasing the Museum’s Permanent Collection. In the Collections Gallery, visitors can enjoy rotating displays of nearly 200 masterpieces reflecting a broad range of artistic styles and representing more than ten centuries of human history. In the Bellerive Room, visitors are invited to explore selections from the impressive ceramic collection of the late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and Princess Catherine Aga Khan.  \n  \nThe core of its Permanent Collection — spanning a vast geographic area from Spain and North Africa in the west, across the Middle East, to South Asia and China in the east — was assembled by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (1933–2003), uncle of His Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. Prince Sadruddin began acquiring works of art in the 1950s while studying at Harvard University. Together with his wife, Princess Catherine Aga Khan, he continued to collect throughout his lifetime. His Highness the Aga Khan and his family have supported and expanded Prince Sadruddin’s collection since his death. Today, it represents the foundation of North America’s first museum dedicated exclusively to Islamic arts, where it is enhanced by superb objects from the private collections of Prince Amyn and His Highness the Aga Khan as well as new acquisitions, special exhibitions, and a rich roster of performances and public programs.  \n  \nOn the second floor, the Aga Khan Museum presents several special exhibitions each year that feature works from the Museum alongside art from partner museums and installations by contemporary artists. These displays are complemented by performing arts programs, lectures, and workshops.","city":"Toronto","address":"77 Wynford Drive,  \nToronto, ON  \nCanada","website":"https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/"},"e8b57a0a-b7bf-5928-ad5a-f258a088b575":{"name":"MIBACT | Collection of former Museum of Industrial Art (M.A.I.)","description":"MAI was founded in Rome in 1874 on the initiative of Baldassarre Odescalchi, Augusto Castellani and Raffaele Erculei to collect handmade artefacts – glass, ceramics, sculptures, painted fabrics and plaster casts – from ancient times to the 17th century, and to be a training school for craftworkers on the model of other European institutions, such as South Kensington Museum, London. Combining theory and experimentation in cooperation with the schools, it never became a national museum. Located for a year in the former convent of San Lorenzo in Lucina, it was moved to the Collegio Romano and then to other locations, until its closure during World War II, when the collections were moved to the storerooms of various Roman museums: Palazzo Venezia, Palazzo Barberini, Castel Sant'Angelo, Palazzo Braschi, the Museum of Roman Civilisation and the State Institute of Art Galileo Galilei.  \n  \nThe National Gallery Palazzo Barberini houses the core of c. 2,000 objects, in particular ceramics, glass, porcelain and wooden sculptures.","city":"Rome","address":"Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13  \n00184 Roma  \nItaly","website":"http://galleriabarberini.beniculturali.it/","phone":"+39 06 4814591","email":"sspsae-rm.gnaa@beniculturali.it"},"e916188b-3d88-5514-afb4-d5123a65224f":{"name":"National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art","description":"The National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art is the oldest museum in Algeria and Africa. The collection was set up in 1835, five years after the French occupation, by the then Governor General Marshal Clauzel who appointed Adrien Berbrugger as its first curator. From 1838 onward, the early museum hosted pieces, of Algerian provenance, from Antiquity up until the Ottoman periods. Between 1838 and 1896, this early museum occupied different places of the lower Casbah, before settling in a beautiful park located on the heights of Mustapha Pasha - now known as the Park of Liberty - where it was officially inaugurated in 1897.  \n  \nSince then these two divisions of the museum’s collection, Antiquity and Islamic, have continued to grow. This collection makes it possible to exhibit the history of Algeria from its Libyan-Punic era through to the 20th century. The objects are displayed in two separate buildings: one houses the pre-Islamic collection whilst the other houses the collection of Islamic art, which was inaugurated in May 2003.  \n  \nThe ancient collection is very rich and includes collections of mosaics, sculptures, Libyan and Latin inscriptions, coins and medals, bronze, ivory, bone, ceramics and wooden objects.  \n  \nThe Islamic section was formed from the first collection of 1854, which included Algerian and Oriental objects. It has gradually been enriched by pieces uncovered through archaeological excavations carried throughout the country. This wide-ranging collection includes sculpted plasterboard from 10th century Sedrata, marble or plaster sculptures of the 11th century Qal'a of Beni Hammad as well as the chairs of the 11th century Almoravid mosques in Algiers and the 12th century mosque of Nedroma.  \n  \nThe furniture arts of North Africa is also widely represented in this museum. Shop windows contain Ottoman-era embroidery, clothing, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, chiselled brass and worked repoussé that comes from the urban centres as well as rural areas. Manuscripts and miniatures complete the collection.  \n  \nThe museum’s numismatic collection is exhibited in a reading room that was inaugurated in May 2006.","city":"Algiers","address":"177, bd Krim-Belkacem, Parc de la Liberté  \nAlgiers, Algeria","website":"https://m-culture.gov.dz/index.php/fr/mus%C3%A9es","phone":"+213 0 21 68 11 29","email":"museemna@musee-antiquites.art.dz"},"ee0a71f8-dc12-5d5d-b02a-4402969e8274":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Arts of Kairouan is located in Raqqada, in a former presidential palace that was converted into a cultural and educational centre in 1986. It contains four rooms on the main floor and upstairs.  \n  \nOn the ground floor are:  \n– The ceramics room, which houses objects dating back to the Aghlabid, Fatimid and Hafsid eras. Those of the Aghlabid era are characterised by the use of metallic lustre glazes, archaic Kufic script and stylised zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images. This room displays a collection of blue Iznik ceramic tiles from Anatolia.  \n  \n– The hall of the Great Mosque, which houses religious objects such as friezes with floral and epigraphic motifs that form part of the roofing. There is also a reconstruction of the *mihrab* from the mosque and the door of the *maqsoura* (private enclosure).  \n  \n– The Lapidary Inscriptions Room, which is under development, will house flat, prismatic and column-barrel gravestones from the Kairouan Cemetery. It will also contain the inscription of the foundation of the city of Sabra al-Mansouriya, characterised by its writing style and its imposing size.  \n  \n\\- The Sabra al-Mansouriya Hall, expected to receive objects from the Sabra excavation, now contains the casting furnace found on the same site.  \n  \nUpstairs:  \nThe glass cases of the coin and jewellery room hold a large collection of coins dating back to the Aghlabid, Fatimid, Hafsid and Ottoman eras, showing their evolution over time. This room also contains glass objects from the Sabra site and the lantern from al-Mouiz.  \n  \nThe manuscript room contains a rich collection of parchment Qur’an folios from the library of the Great Mosque of Kairouan displaying the evolution of writing and ornamentation styles (3rd / 9th to the 13th / 19th century). The collection owes its unique reputation to the famous “blue parchment” of the 4th / 10th century. Enclosing these folios are leather bindings embossed with floral and geometric designs.  \n  \nAn exhibition such as this one helps us interpret the history of the city of Kairouan. The newer Sabra Hall, the Hall of Lapidary Inscriptions and the Hall of the Great Mosque of Kairouan will further our understanding.","city":"Kairouan","address":"Musée des arts islamiques  \nKairouan-Raqqada","phone":"+216 77 228126"},"f0c1b6b9-8198-5a97-9aea-8ebedfa90ca3":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"At the order of Khedive Ismail Pasha in 1880 the collection of archaeological rarities from the Islamic era was begun in the mosque of Al- Hakim. The Council for the Preservation of Arab Antiquities, created in 1881 in association with the Ministry of Awqaf, supervised the House of Arab Antiquities, as it was then known, until 1930 when the museum was taken into the Ministry of Education.  \n  \nThe museum acquired only from mosques and public buildings in its first 20 years. Then it undertook its first excavation in 1910 in the vicinity of Doronka in Upper Egypt and a second excavation south of Cairo uncovering a section of the city of Fustat (first Islamic capital of Egypt).  \n  \nThe museum acquired many items through donations. King Fu’ad I gave a valuable collection of textiles, scales and seals as did King Farouk, Amir Muhammad Ali and Amir Yusuf Kamal. Amir Kamal al-Din Hussein, Yakub Artin Pasha and Ali Ibrahim Pasha also donated complete collections.  \n  \nThe collections, amounting to 7082 artefacts, were transferred to their current building, when the present museum was inaugurated in December 1903. In 1952, the name of the museum was changed to the ‘Museum of Islamic Art’ to reflect the scope of the collection: objects produced in the Islamic world and dating from the beginning of the Islamic era (AD 7th century) to the end of the AD 19th century. The number of recorded objects has now reached 103,000.  \n  \nThe collections include enamelled glass lamps, Egyptian ceramics and a rare collection of filigree waterpot filters of unpainted earthenware renowned for their lacework designs. There are also collections of woodwork, textiles and stones with inscriptions, while the collection of carpets is considered to be one of the greatest of its kind. Collections of scientific instruments display the extent to which Islamic civilisation has contributed to knowledge in many different fields. There is also an extraordinary collection of seals, weights, measures, gold, silver and copper coins.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art, having one of the most comprehensive and complete Islamic art collections in the world continues to develop and expand its collections and to modernise the building with its 25 halls, facilities and archaeological garden.","city":"Cairo","website":"https://www.miaegypt.org/","phone":"+20 2 2390 1520"},"f2c2b5c1-dd0f-5208-8f82-ff80d06d5bde":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"f446146a-791c-5ab5-a762-4bd0263541be":{"name":"Moravian Gallery","description":"The Moravian Gallery in Brno, the second largest art museum in the Czech Republic, is exceptional for the wide range of artistic disciplines it covers. It is the only institution in the country collecting visual art that is concerned with painting, drawing, graphic art and sculpture – from the past and the present – as well as photography, applied art and design.  \n  \nFounded in Brno in 1961 by amalgamating the Museum of Applied Arts and the Picture Gallery of the Moravian Museum, it is housed in three centrally located and architecturally impressive buildings. The Moravian Gallery in Brno sets out to present visual culture from within the Czech Republic in a European context, through both permanent and temporary exhibitions. To achieve its goals it works together with a number of institutions at home and abroad and participates in international projects. At a global level the most renowned event organised by the Moravian Gallery in Brno is the International Biennale of Graphic Design, which has been taking place here since 1963.  \n  \nThe temporary displays and permanent exhibitions are enriched by an accompanying programme of lectures, guided tours, workshops, concerts and performances created to suit the whole spectrum of visitors. Special attention is paid to children, whether visiting individually or in school groups.  \n  \nA testimonial to the museum's accessibility is a collection of art for the visually impaired and related exhibition projects such as Possible Messages and Invisible Causes.","city":"Brno","address":"Husova 18,  \nCZ-662 00 Brno  \nCzech Republic","website":"http://www.moravska-galerie.cz","phone":"+420 532 169 111; 532 169 130","email":"info@moravska-galerie.cz"},"f5c11bd8-33ca-5552-a5d9-8437afd6ee27":{"name":"The Lebanese University","description":"The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. The university has 17 faculties across Lebanon and serves various cultural, religious and social groups of students and teachers.  \n  \nThe independent university enjoys administrative, academic and financial freedom. Among its educational goals are creating a unique mix of cultures and providing the basic and essential education to allow students to enter various professions.  \n  \nIn spite of the crisis in the region that has existed since 1975, leaving wounds and tragedies, the Lebanese University has remained the national home of science. Rivalling the most prestigious universities in Lebanon and abroad, and leading the process of human development that spread all over the country, its graduates became ambassadors of Lebanon in all the corners of the earth.  \n  \nOur university respects the national demand for academic freedom, which has become a right of scholars and specialists, based on laws and international conventions and regional organisations and sometimes more, applying the important rules of human rights: the right of learning and seeking knowledge with higher education and participation in international projects to develop academic programmes and exchange of research.The university has maintained the quality of higher education, although we seek more contact with the spirit of this modern age and its promising accomplishments by increasing relations and agreements with other universities and institutions all over the world. In spite of the political pressures on the people of the university and attempts to split them into factions, the majority of them have remained faithful to the spirit of the national organisation and the struggles of the early pioneers who insisted on building the edifice of national higher education, in the framework of the values of freedom and justice.","city":"Beirut","address":"Central Administration, Museum, Beirut  \n  \nPostal address: P.O. Box 6573/14 Badaro, Museum  \nBeirut  \nLebanon","website":"http://www.ul.edu.lb/","phone":"+961 1 612830; 1 612831","email":"ibady@ul.edu.lb"},"f6a3053d-d710-547e-be54-96097d448f7a":{"name":"National Museum of Damascus","description":"The National Museum in Damascus was established under the supervision of the Ministry of Education in 1919. The original core of this museum's contents was initially kept at the Madrasa al-'Adiliya. The collection gradually increased and the discovery of the Umayyad palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi in the Syrian desert in 1936 further spurred into action plans for a newer and bigger museum. A building located next to Al-Takiyya al-Sulaymaniya was chosen for the establishment of the National Museum of Damascus.  \n  \nQasr Al-Hayr Al-Gharbi added new emphasis to the importance of devoting more attention to the Islamic period and the Directors of Antiquities decided to incorporate these palatial finds into the National Museum of Damascus. After much hard work and technical expertise, the front façade of the Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi was transposed and carefully reconstructed as the National Museum's main entrance. The side halls and the second floor were designated for the most important artistic finds of this early Islamic palace. The completion of the display took several years and the official opening was celebrated in 1950.  \n  \nIn 1953 a three-storey wing was added to house and display ancient oriental antiquities, the Islamic period, modern Syrian art, and temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nOne of the more recent extensions included three double halls for the Islamic period, a new lecture hall and a library. The lecture hall was furnished as a 19th-century Damascene reception hall, a masterpiece of late decoration and ornamentation in its own right. The opening of this extension took place in 1963.  \n  \nIn 1974 there were further additions, this time devoted to the Palaeolithic period. And lastly, in 2004, the temporary exhibition wing was transformed into a permanent collection of Neolithic antiquities.  \n  \nAt present, the National Museum of Damascus consists of the following sections:  \n  \n1\\. Palaeolithic.  \n2\\. Neolithic.  \n3\\. Ancient Syrian Oriental.  \n4\\. Classical.  \n5\\. Islamic.  \n6\\. Modern Arts.","city":"Damascus","address":"Qasr el-Heir Street  \nDamascus, Syria","phone":"+963 11 2234331","email":"sam.orient@mail.sy"},"f7ad767b-6858-5305-9b31-88d0f48a19fb":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","email":"info@slam.org"},"f7e39862-fd17-55f3-bcf9-cb93787c8817":{"name":"MIBACT | National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography “Luigi Pigorini”","description":"The National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography was founded in 1875 by Luigi Pigorini. The museum is the main Italian centre for the preservation and display of pre-historic and non-European collections. Its main tasks are: archaeological and anthropological research; study, documentation and conservation of the museum’s collections; management of permanent and temporary exhibitions; educational programmes; and training in conservation, museological, archaeological and anthropological fields.  \n  \nToday, testifying to the new Italian multicultural reality, the Pigorini Museum offers itself as a cultural point of reference and a privileged interlocutor for immigrants and for the ethnic minorities already settled in the country.","city":"Rome","address":"Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, 14  \n00144 Roma  \nItaly","website":"www.pigorini.beniculturali.it","phone":"+39 06 549521","email":"s-mnpe@beniculturali.it"},"f937f9c2-61b9-5201-b1ec-08251315e395":{"name":"National Museum of Decorative Arts","description":"The National Museum of Decorative Arts (MNAD) devotes its permanent collection to historical and current domestic spaces and allows visitors to experience the daily life of various cultures. Temporary exhibitions focus primarily on the contemporary designers and artists – both established and emerging – that create our environment. Through these visiting exhibits, the museum is able to display parts of the permanent collection kept in storage and generally not visible to the public.  \n  \nThe museum houses a permanent collection of over 70,000 objects from several geographic origins; mainly Spain, but also other European countries and the Far East. The collection covers a long chronological period. The oldest pieces date from the 4th century BC, but the chronological sequence goes from the 14th century until the first half of the 21st century, including the collection of avant-garde design as well as recent acquisitions of contemporary design.  \n  \nThis broad collection includes a full range of materials, techniques and typologies, including textiles, metalwork, furniture, ceramics, glass, costumes, silver, ironwork, ivory, photographs, prints and documents.  \n  \nIn 1934 the museum moved to its present location, a mansion built in 1878 by the architect José María González for Doña María del Carmen Espinosa, the Duchess of Santoña. Part of the original red-brick and stone facade, the imperial staircase of white Italian marble decorated with medallions and the Italian mosaic floors by Pellerin and Domenico still remain from the original concept of the building, a residence in the Romantic style. In the 1940s the architect Luis Moya added two floors above the original ones, structured in enfilade around a central court. Since then, the museum has undergone various improvements.","city":"Madrid","address":"C/ Montalbán, 12  \n28014 Madrid  \nSpain","website":"http://mnartesdecorativas.mcu.es/","phone":"+34 91 532 64 99","email":"mnad@mecd.es"},"fa4acaf4-e4a9-5f92-8877-0946904fdbd3":{"name":"Silves Archaeological Museum","description":"Brief History  \n  \nInaugurated in 1990, the Silves Museum was built around the magnificent 12th-13th century Almohad well-cistern, which was discovered through archaeological excavations in the 1980s. The site is currently classified as a national monument and is the centrepiece of the Silves Museum’s permanent exhibition. The museum space also integrates the Almohad era city wall, making it not only a museum that exhibits a significant historical collection, but also a rare jewel of present day Portuguese Islamic heritage.  \n  \nSince its inauguration the museum has left its permanent collection, consisting of around 800 mostly ceramic objects, open to public viewing. The museum also contains a plethora of objects in reserve which were acquired through several archaeological excavations conducted throughout Portugal.  \n  \nCollection  \n  \nChronologically divided into five sections, the museum includes a collection of Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman era objects. Its collections are distinguished not just by the quantity but also by their exceptional quality and includes objects from the medieval Islamic periods. These constitute objects from the Umayyad Caliphate, the Taifa era, the Almoravid and the later Almohad dynasties, representing a long period of Islamic rule that ranged from the 8th to the 13th centuries CE. Due to the nature of the site, there is a strong representation of objects from the Almohad period between the 12th and 13th centuries, which attest to the richness and importance of Silves during this historic period.  \n  \nThe museum’s collection also exhibits a range of comparatively modern objects, from the 15th to the 17th centuries, which attest to the influential and complex network of trade routes between the city of Silves and other significant ports of the time.  \n  \nPublic Outreach  \n  \nThe museum has been developing a programme of temporary exhibitions from its own funds as a means to not only showcase certain presentations, but also strengthen cultural relations with countries that were historically linked to the municipality of Silves. Among these include projects with the Kingdom of Morocco.  \n  \nThe museum’s educational department plays a key role in the attraction and retention of the public awareness. This is done through prioritising communication with young audiences and providing them with tools that help interpret the museum’s archaeological collection.  \n  \nIt is through this approach that the pedagogic workshops were formed which, with the help of local artisans, offer a range of activities that help raise awareness towards the historic material culture showcased in the museum. These include pottery, ceramics, weaving and calligraphy. For other audiences who wish to experience a wider variety of themes, there are workshops centred on the local environment, heritage, playhouses, the sciences as well as tours that complement temporary exhibitions. Lastly, to stimulate further interest and promote the study of the collection, the museum has developed projects and activities with other international networks that have similar interests.","city":"Silves","address":"Rua Porta de Loulé, n. 14  \n8300-129  \nSilves, Portugal","website":"https://www.cm-silves.pt/pt/menu/547/museu-municipal-de-arqueologia-de-silves.aspx","phone":"+351 282 444 832","email":"museu.municipal@cm-silves.pt"},"fea32901-ad4a-5972-8043-fd04f11ab0ee":{"name":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","description":"Interest in Islamic art has grown enormously in recent years. Reflecting this awareness, in December 1998 Malaysia became home to Southeast Asia’s largest museum of Islamic art. The building occupies 30,000 square metres, situated amid the leafy surroundings of central Kuala Lumpur’s Lake Gardens.  \n  \nThe Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia houses more than ten thousand artefacts, as well as an exceptional library of Islamic art books. The art objects on display range from the tiniest pieces of jewellery to one of the world’s largest scale models of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The aim is to create a collection that is truly representative of the Islamic world. Instead of concentrating on works from the heartlands of Persia and the Middle East, IAMM also puts the emphasis on Asia. China and Southeast Asia are especially well represented. The third component of the Malaysian melting pot is India, which is also given special status. India, China and the Malay World are in an exceptional category. Other parts of the collection are displayed according to type rather than geographical origins in the museum’s 12 galleries.  \n  \nIranian tile workers transformed the iwan-style entrance into a ceramic tapestry that frames a welcoming verse from the Qur’an. On the roof, these artisans turned the dome-construction traditions of Central Asia into the building’s crowning glory. The turquoise-coloured domes are now a landmark on the Kuala Lumpur skyline.  \n  \nInside the building, the angularity of 21st century design is contrasted with the soft, rounded forms of the five domes that dominate the museum’s interior. Laboured over by craftsmen from Uzbekistan, these imposing features help form an ambience that is both airy and harmony. The seamless continuity of light and space is maintained throughout the galleries and into other areas of the museum, such as the library and the restaurant.","city":"Kuala Lumpur","address":"Jalan Lembah Perdana  \n50480 Kuala Lumpur  \nMalaysia","website":"http://www.iamm.org.my","phone":"+603 20927070; +603 22742020","email":"info@iamm.org.my"}}
+{"01ed0e00-4aed-5afc-bdea-937514669d4b":{"name":"Victoria and Albert Museum","description":"The Victoria and Albert (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art and design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. When the museum opened to the public in 1852, its mission was to reform design by making works of art available to all, improving the public’s understanding of the subject and providing inspiration for designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world.  \n  \nThe V&A comprises a family of sites, including the V&A in South Kensington, Young V&A located in Bethnal Green, V&A Dundee in Scotland, the V&A Wedgwood Collection housed in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shekou, China, and opening in 2024/25 will be V&A East located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. Across these sites the museum showcases their collections to a wide range of audiences and aims to champion design and creativity in all its forms.  \n  \nThe V&A has specialised in collecting art and design from the Islamic world since the 1850s, and it was the first institution in the world to collect Islamic art in a systematic fashion. The museum's founders believed that Islamic ideas about structuring patterns and matching decoration to shape and function could improve British design. The collection grew to become the most significant in its field. Outstanding works include the AH 10th / AD 16th-century Ardabil carpet from Iran, a rock crystal ewer from AH 5th / AD 11th-century Egypt, and the world’s greatest collections of Islamic ceramics. The museum also houses the national collection of Islamic textiles.","city":"London","address":"Cromwell Road  \nSouth Kensington  \nSW7 2RL  \nLondon  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.vam.ac.uk","phone":"+44 207 9422000","fax":"+44 207 9422335"},"05962a8b-bfa0-546b-b0fe-325dd90488cc":{"name":"Vehbi Koç Foundation Sadberk Hanim Museum","description":"Sadberk Hanım Museum opened in October 1980 as Turkey’s first private museum, established by the Vehbi Koç Foundation to exhibit the collection of Sadberk Koç, the wife of Vehbi Koç. Today the museum holds over 18,000 items in its Turkish Islamic and archaeological collections. The museum gives priority to outstanding examples of Ottoman period works. In particular, its collections of İznik tiles and ceramics and Ottoman period women’s costume and embroidery rank among the best in the world. The collections of Anatolian and Turkish objects are arranged chronologically, from 6,000 BC to the present day.  \n  \nAs well as archaeological and early Islamic items, the museum collects the finest examples of works of art ranging from calligraphy to silk fabrics produced over the six centuries of the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Piyasa Caddesi, 25-29  \nBüyükdere Sarıyer  \n34453 Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"www.sadberkhanimmuzesi.org.tr","phone":"+90 212 242 38 13 / 14","fax":"+90 212 242 03 65","email":"shm@biri.com.tr"},"08da2b05-a4ee-59f0-8585-a9431321460e":{"name":"Larache Archaeological Museum","description":"Kindly note that the Larache Archaeological Museum has been closed and all its artefacts have been moved to:  \n  \nCasbah Museum (Tangier)  \nAl-Kasbah, Tangier  \nConservator: Abdelaziz El Idrissi  \nT: +212 539 932 097  \nM: +212 (0) 675 271 922  \n  \nThe following is an older article referring to the when the Larache Archaeological Museum was operational.  \n  \nLocated on Dar el-Makhzen Square near the old city wall, Borj al-Yahoudi was renovated in 1978 as a museum of the city of Larache. The museum exhibits only archaeological objects excavated from the Lixus site, about four kilometres from the Loukkos River harbour.  \n  \nThe first section displays the pieces chronologically; a second room, on the ground floor, is arranged in order of category: religious life, mythology, architecture, jewellery and ceramics.  \n  \nThe chronology is as follows:  \n  \n**The Phoenician Period**  \nAlthough archaeological data from the period is scarce, the museum’s collection (a sphinx, ostrich eggs, jewellery – including the famous gold earring of the goddess Tanit) is evidence of the existence of commercial trade at the port of Lixus.  \n  \n**The Punic Period**  \nAmphorae, imported ceramics and common pottery show the engagement of Lixus in the major Mediterranean trading routes.  \n  \n**The Mauritanian Period**  \nThe collections of amphorae, perfume containers, imported ceramics and copies of bronze works date to this era of intense commercial activity and urban expansion.  \n  \n**The Roman Period**  \nRoman-era archaeological objects occupy a vast area and reveal the flourishing of Lixus under Roman colonisation, from the reign of Claude (AD 1st century) until the Romans abandoned the city (AD 5th century). Included are ceramic utensils imported from Italy, Spain and southern Gaul, amphorae, statuettes, mosaic fragments, bronze furniture, architectural elements – including a Pompeian-style mural.  \n  \n**The Islamic Period**  \nAlthough medieval objects are rare, the Islamic occupation of the site has been confirmed by the discovery of architectural elements, by everyday Almohad and Almoravid ceramics, and especially by *cuerda seca* (dry cord) ceramics, including a celebrated drinking vase. Similar examples have been found in Murcia and Siyasa, Shaltish and Huelva in Andalusia.","city":"Larache","address":"Délégation du Ministère de la Culture  \nLarache, Morocco","phone":"+212 539 912 092"},"0ee9edf3-a6cd-5eef-bed9-6de0780dc655":{"name":"National Palace of Sintra","description":"As the sole surviving mediaeval royal palace in Portugal, and the residence of the Portuguese royal family since 1910, the National Palace of Sintra can trace its origin to the beginning of the Muslim period in the Iberian Peninsula.  \n  \nThe palace stands as living testimony to some of the most successful moments in Portuguese history when the country opened up to new worlds, and its architecture and heritage became marked by the harmonious combination of Gothic, Moorish and Renaissance elements.  \n  \nThe palace’s outward profile has become famous for its two monumental cone-shaped chimneys, while its interior walls are lined with Portugal’s largest set of Mudéjar tiles still in situ today. It also contains one of the country’s most important heraldic rooms and has some significant collections of decorative arts.","city":"Sintra","address":"Palácio Nacional de Sintra  \nLargo da Rainha D. Amélia  \n2710-616 Sintra  \nPortugal","website":"http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/parques-jardins-e-monumentos/palacio-nacional-de-sintra","phone":"+351 219 237 300"},"113e7cf6-f7c2-53aa-9442-5229ced56c72":{"name":"Museum Rietberg","description":"The Museum Rietberg is one of the largest art museums in Switzerland and is administered by the City of Zurich. With a focus on traditional and contemporary arts and cultures of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, it has some 23,000 objects and 37,000 ethnographic photographs in its collection. Most of the objects are on public display, either in the museum’s galleries or in its open storeroom.  \n  \nIn 1945, the City of Zurich bought the 67,000 square metres of the Rieterpark and the Villa Wesendonck. Then in 1949, the people of Zurich approved the plan to convert the Villa Wesendonck into a museum and to establish, at the same time, the Museum Rietberg. In 1952, the new museum finally opened its doors to the public. The complex consists of three nineteenth-century villas and a coach house, not to mention a recent underground extension opened in 2007.  \n  \nThe work of the Museum Rietberg is characterised by a high degree of professionalism, social inclusion, and diversity. The Museum aims to heighten awareness of the artistic achievements of individuals alongside those brought about by religious and social diversity. In so doing, it fulfils an important cultural mission in our increasingly globalised world.  \n  \nFurthermore, the Museum’s first-rate collection of international renown requires expert care, continuous academic study, including provenance research, while being actively expanded and managed. The institution ensures the transparency of the results of its research by making them largely available online.  \n  \nThe Museum Rietberg possesses both local and international connections with cultural institutions, collectors, and specialists in a variety of fields. It pursues a policy of long-term cooperation with countries of origin including Cameroon, India, Pakistan, and Peru.","city":"Zurich","address":"Gablerstrasse 15  \n8002 Zurich","website":"http://www.rietberg.ch","phone":"+41 44 415 31 31","email":"museum.rietberg@zuerich.ch"},"11a6bc48-e744-5a4d-bc24-6efd41668b46":{"name":"Basra Museum of Civilisation","description":"The Basra Museum of Civilisation is located in the Presidential Palaces Complex in Al-Baradhiyah, Basra, Iraq. It was created to share and protect the history of southern Iraq and the civilisations that once flourished there. The museum shows the richness of Iraq’s culture, displaying artefacts from Mesopotamia, the Islamic period, and modern times. Visitors can see ancient tools, coins, pottery, sculptures, and other historical pieces that tell the story of the people who lived in this land for thousands of years.  \n  \nThe museum is not only a place to see history but also a centre for learning. It welcomes students, teachers, and other visitors who want to understand Iraq’s past and its influence on the world. The museum also works with local and international experts to restore artefacts, organise exhibitions, and support cultural programs.  \n  \nToday, the Basra Museum of Civilisation stands as a symbol of pride and renewal for the people of Basra. It connects the past with the present, a reminder of the importance of protecting our cultural roots. Through its activities and exhibitions the museum inspires visitors to appreciate the value of history and to help preserve Iraq’s rich heritage for future generations.","city":"Basra","address":"Al-Baradhiyah – Presidential Palaces Complex","phone":"+964 781 377 7577","email":"basrahmuseum08@gmail.com"},"1232b5a2-7af1-5de4-a332-ff444943f8b0":{"name":"MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art","description":"The MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art – is one of the foremost museums of its kind in the world. The building located on Stubenring in the 1st district of Vienna was founded in 1863 as the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry) and today houses a unique collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art.  \n  \nThe MAK collection encompasses European and international decorative arts ranging from the Early Middle Ages to the present. The museum's main holdings include textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and metalwork as well as exquisite objects of the Wiener Werkstätte (craftworks) and Art Nouveau. Its collection of Oriental carpets and East Asian art are of the highest international significance.  \n  \nAmong the objects from the Islamic world, the collection of Oriental carpets is pre-eminent, and the museum holds the largest collection worldwide of paintings of the *Hamzanama* from the era of the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. Important examples of the applied arts are preserved in the MAK Asia Collection, which most notably include objects from Iran and the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Vienna","address":"Stubenring, 5  \nA-1010 Vienna  \nAustria","website":"http://www.mak.at","phone":"+43 1 711 36-248","email":"office@MAK.at"},"18e20431-88ff-5070-a722-ea79a4e19880":{"name":"The David Collection","description":"The David Collection was founded by C. L. David (1878-1960), a prominent Danish attorney, who had begun to collect fine and decorative art in the 1910s. In this last field, he was aided by directors of the Danish Museum of Art and Design, who gradually also guided him to another area that had previously attracted little interest in Denmark: Islamic art. The Islamic part of David’s collection was, however, still rather modest at the time of his death in 1960.  \n  \nA bachelor and childless, C. L. David left his Copenhagen townhouse and works of art to a private foundation, along with financial means that made it possible to expand his collections. From the 1970s, a decision was consequently made to place increasing emphasis on expanding the Islamic holdings. The Islamic Collection has grown to become not only the museum’s most important, with over 4,000 objects, but also Scandinavia’s most significant in its field.  \n  \nThe Islamic Collection has been built up in keeping with the classical pattern for Western collections of this kind. It embodies works of art from Spain in the west to India in the east, but not works from Sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia. Chronologically, the collection ranges from works dating to shortly after the advent of Islam to the middle of the 19th century. The collection encompasses all types of materials, but since the small rooms of 19th-century buildings like C. L. David’s townhouse, now the museum’s home, make it impossible to exhibit large objects, the museum consequently has only a modest collection of carpets, and they are either of small size or fragments of larger carpets.  \n  \nFollowing the museum’s refurbishment and reinstallation of its collections in 2009, the David Collection is now divided into three parts: European 18th-Century Art, Danish Early Modern Art, and Islamic Art. The collection of Islamic Art is presented in a new, contemporary setting, enhanced by digital and other modern techniques used to elucidate the objects on display. The backbone of the collection is 20 chronological/geographical sections, but the display also contains special galleries for light-sensitive materials as well as others dedicated to themes such as cultural history and artistic techniques.","city":"Copenhagen","address":"Kronprinsessegade, 30  \nCopenhagen  \nDenmark  \n  \nPostal address: Kronprinsessegade 30-32","website":"http://www.davidmus.dk/en","phone":"+45 33734949","fax":"+45 33734948","email":"museum@davidmus.dk"},"19c6017a-4b0e-5530-b7ac-c09f8a4bf54d":{"name":"Calouste Gulbenkian Museum","description":"Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian was born in Scutari in 1869 into a family of Armenian origin. A pioneer of the oil industry and an exceptionally discerning and knowledgeable collector, he came to Portugal in 1942 as the Second World War raged in Europe. Gulbenkian spent the remaining years of his life in Lisbon and died here in 1955.  \n  \nIn 1956 the Foundation which takes his name was created, fulfilling his wish that the works of art that he had assembled over four decades as a collector should be kept together under one roof.  \n  \nThis desire was fulfilled in 1969 with the inauguration of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. The museum’s collection numbers some 6000 pieces. The breadth of the collection reflects Gulbenkian’s own preferences and the personal tastes which always guided him. It covers various periods of the history of art, from classical and oriental Antiquity to European art of the early twentieth century.  \n  \nThe Calouste Gulbenkian Museum is set in the Parque Santa Gertrudes and is a landmark in museum architecture in Portugal. With numerous openings to the exterior, it offers visitors a continuous dialogue between Nature and Art.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition galleries are on the first floor of the building and distributed around two patios. Each gallery is linked with its successor according to a chronological and geographical system of classification which results in two independent itineraries within the general circuit of the museum.  \n  \nGulbenkian was especially interested in oriental art (perhaps because of his own origins) and the collection’s numerous ceramics, carpets, tapestries, illuminations, book bindings and mosque lamps from the East are an illustration of this interest. These exhibits trace the various artistic tendencies of Persia, Turkey, Syria, the Caucasus, Armenia and India from the twelfth to the eighteenth centuries, and are on display in the Islamic Orient gallery.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Av. Berna, 45 A  \n1067-001 Lisbon, Portugal","website":"https://gulbenkian.pt/","phone":"+351 217 823 000","fax":"+351 217 823 032","email":"museu@gulbenkian.pt"},"1a71204b-8e36-580b-a74d-a57610ef4232":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is a pioneering project spotlighting the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the project is the cornerstone for the State of Qatar in its establishment as a global capital of culture.  \n  \nThe 35,500 sq. m museum was designed by I.M. Pei, taking inspiration from the 13th-century sabil (ablutions fountain) of the 9th-century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo. The museum comprises a five-level main building and a two-storey Education Wing, connected across a fountain courtyard. The main building’s angular planes form ascending pinnacles, rising around an atrium. Inside, a dome is revealed, concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A window on the building’s north side rises to a height of 54 m., providing dramatic views from all five floors. The ground floor is home to a temporary gallery space for touring international exhibitions and the café, giftshop and Information Services. The museum’s permanent exhibition is installed on two floors of galleries designed by the French firm Jean-Michel Wilmotte & Associés. The fourth floor contains temporary galleries showcasing the research topics of museum staff, using items either not seen in the permanent galleries or with new information to see them in a new way.  \n  \nOverview of the collections  \nThe MIA houses artefacts highlighting the creative achievements of the Islamic world's richest cultures and spanning nearly a thousand years. The collection represents the full scope of Islamic art in all media, from manuscripts to ceramics, metalwork, glass, stone, ivory, textiles, wood, precious stones and jewellery.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition of c. 850 artefacts offers an insight into the diverse art of the Islamic world. Two floors are dedicated to the exploration of historical eras and interpretation of the themes of Islamic art and material culture, from the 8th century to the cusp of the 19th century.  \n  \nThe MIA also holds thousands more objects, some destined to be seen in future displays and others providing a resource for education and research.  \n  \nHighlights of the collection include: a distinguished group of carpets and textiles, a range of Ayyubid and Mamluk metalwork and enamelled glass, an outstanding strength in early ceramics, a comprehensive collection of astrolabes and scientific instruments, masterpieces of Mughal jewellery and rare manuscripts and miniatures.  \n  \nThe Department of Education and Information  \nThe department’s main goal is to create materials, programmes and workshops that will engage the public, allowing them to explore the world through Islamic art, promoting a culture of learning within an atmosphere of knowledge and entertainment.  \n  \nThe Curatorial Department  \nThe department of internationally trained curators is committed to studying, documenting and publicising the MIA’s collection and establishing the MIA as a world-class centre of scholarly research.  \n  \nThe Conservation Department  \nSet to become a leading regional service centre for museums, the department is committed to restoring, preserving and caring for the collection through the application of innovative scientific methods.  \n  \nInternational partnerships  \nThe MIA is committed to building a network of partnerships around the world and offering institutes and museums collective access to information, research and images. It has strong ties with many world-class museums and collections, including the Louvre, France, the British Museum, UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Germany, the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Gulbenkian, Portugal, and the National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art, Algeria.","city":"Doha","address":"Postal Address: P.O. Box 2777  \nDoha, Qatar","website":"mia.org.qa/","phone":"+974 4422 4444","fax":"+974 4422 4447","email":"infomia@qma.org.qa; educationmia@qma.org.qa; librarymia@qma.org.qa"},"1d0ff55d-dcd7-59a9-b95d-18903aa4ab05":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded 1930 by Antonis Benakis, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek culture from the Paleolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos 138, the Toy Museum on the Athens seafront, the Ghika Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antonis Benakis during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the 19th century and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, tiraz textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. Then follow objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nAnother gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century mansion in Cairo, together with its fountain, qamariyya windows and a mashrabiyya screen. Other noteworthy exhibits are the collection of Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The display concludes with arms and armour and an important collection of Qajar jewellery that was collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a large section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains in situ at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \n10674 Athens","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","fax":"+30 210 322 5550","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"1db535b6-0ad9-580c-b2d0-66605f9e9d44":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Lisbon**  \nAncient Patriarch’s Palace, now Casa do Gaiato  \nArmy Museum  \nCalouste Gulbenkian Museum  \nChurch of St. Domingos de Benfica  \nLisbon’s Holy House of Mercy/Museum of São Roque  \nMacau Scientific and Cultural Centre Museum  \nMaritime Museum  \nNational Coach Museum  \nNational Library of Portugal  \nNational Museum of Ancient Art  \nPharmacy Museum  \n  \n**Alpiarça**  \nPatudos House, Alpiarça Museum  \n  \n**Alcobaça**  \nAlcobaça Monastery  \n  \n**Arouca**  \nSacred Art Museum of Arouca  \n  \n**Beja**  \nQueen Leonor Museum, Districtal Museum of Beja  \n  \n**Braga**  \nBraga Cathedral  \n  \n**Coimbra**  \nMachado de Castro National Museum  \nMuseum of Physics, University of Coimbra  \n  \n**Ílhavo**  \nVista Alegre Historic Museum  \n  \n**Oeiras**  \nOeiras Town Hall  \n  \n**Óbidos**  \nMunicipal Museum of Óbidos  \n  \n**Porto**  \nSoares dos Reis National Museum  \n  \n**Sardoal**  \nSardoal’s Holy House of Mercy  \n  \n**Viana do Castelo**  \nMuseum of Art and Archeology of Viana do Castelo  \n  \n**Vila Verde dos Francos**  \nOur Lady of the Visitation Convent  \n  \n**Vila Viçosa**  \nMuseum and Library of the House of Braganza  \n  \n**Viseu**  \nGrão Vasco Museum"},"1dc4a129-85b0-57d5-9622-15c790c4333f":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"Zisa Museum  \nAddress: Piazza Zisa, 1  \n90100 - Palermo  \nTel: +39 091 65 20 269  \n  \nCappella Palatina  \nAddress: P.zza del Risorgimento  \n90100 Palermo  \nTel: +39 091 6961111","city":"Palermo"},"203e899d-9ba9-57ac-9547-4789b6e891b4":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded 1930 by Antonis Benakis, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek culture from the Paleolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos 138, the Toy Museum on the Athens seafront, the Ghika Gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antonis Benakis during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the 19th century and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, tiraz textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. Then follow objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nAnother gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century mansion in Cairo, together with its fountain, qamariyya windows and a mashrabiyya screen. Other noteworthy exhibits are the collection of Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The display concludes with arms and armour and an important collection of Qajar jewellery that was collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a large section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains in situ at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \n10674 Athens","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","fax":"+30 210 322 5550","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"22547ca7-10d6-5cc9-afc8-7b479e6eea75":{"name":"Ethnography Museum","description":"The Ethnography Museum’s architect Arif Hikmet (Koyunoğlu) is one of the most renowned architects of the early Republican period. The building has a rectangular plan with a single dome. The stone walls are faced with coarse sandstone, and the marble pediment has carved decoration.  \n  \nThe Ethnography Museum houses examples of Turkish art dating from the Seljuq period to modern times. To the right of the entrance are halls displaying items related to the Anatolian wedding ceremony and bridal dresses, Turkish embroidery, Turkish carpets, Anatolian coffee culture and the circumcision ceremony. To the left of the entrance are halls housing tile and glass artefacts, objects donated by Besim Atalay, Ottoman calligraphy and some of the finest wooden artefacts from the Seljuq and Emirate periods.","city":"Ankara","address":"Talatpaşa Bulvarı, Ülkü Sokak, 4  \nOpera, Ankara  \nTurkey","website":"https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=AET01&DistId=MRK","phone":"+90 312 311 30 00","fax":"+90 312 311 95 56","email":"ankaraetnografyamuze@kultur.gov.tr"},"2300bb0e-fc9f-55c5-ae2e-20f619a46cce":{"name":"Weltmuseum Wien","description":"The Weltmuseum Wien – formerly the Museum of Ethnology – houses comprehensive collections of ethnographic objects, historical photographs, and books on non-European civilisations, making it one of the world’s leading ethnographic museums. Its roots can be traced back to 1806, when the \"Imperial and Royal Ethnographic Collection\" was established as part of the combined Imperial and Royal Court Cabinet of Natural Objects, following the partial acquisition of the \"Cook Collection\" at a London auction. The continuously growing collections were transferred to the newly created “Department of Anthropology and Ethnography” of the Royal Court Museum of Natural History in 1876. Limited space and a goal of developing ethnology as a cultural science convinced political decision-makers to establish a unified, cohesive Museum of Ethnology. The “Museum of Ethnology” opened formally in 1928 taking up the entire building of the “Corps de Logis” in Neue Burg.  \n  \nIn 2001 the Museum of Ethnology was incorporated into the KHM-Museum Association. In April 2013 the Museum of Ethnology became the \"Weltmuseum Wien\" – a site of world cultures – at Vienna’s Heldenplatz. In October 2017, after extensive reparation and modernisation of the historical building, the Museum reopened in its entirety with 14 completely revised permanent exhibition galleries. The Museum’s collection, meanwhile, has expanded to well over 200,000 inventory numbers.","city":"Vienna","address":"Heldenplatz  \n1010 Vienna","website":"http://www.weltmuseumwien.at","phone":"+43 1 534 30-5052","email":"info@weltmuseumwien.at"},"236add0a-18d4-55b1-88dd-71cad26804b1":{"name":"Archaeological Area and Museum of Mertola","description":"Located on the banks of the river Guadiana, the village of Mértola was of exceptional economic importance throughout the history of Iberia, right up until the period of its Christian Reconquest (1238 CE). This was due in large part to the vitality of its port which from the pre-Roman period onward traded in extracted metals from the nearby regions of Aljustrel and the mines of S. Domingos. The growing awareness of the city’s cultural richness owes largely to the heritage work done by the ‘Campo Arqueologico de Mértola’ (est. 1978) and the establishment of the Museum of Mértola on the back of finds from several excavations (est. 1982).  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum, with a geographical focus on the town and its municipality, has branched out to include archaeological sites representing several periods of history within its remit. These include a Roman house which was opened to the public in 1998, an early Christian basilica opened in 1993, as well as the church and necropolis of S. Sebastião which was inaugurated in 1999. Several other sites bring together important collections of archaeological materials, especially in the Castle Tower opened to the public in 1991 and the centre for Islamic Art which was opened in 2001. There is also an important collection of religious art with pieces dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries CE as well as ethnographic materials representative of traditional craftsmanship. These include a blacksmith’s forge and a weaving workshop where, at present, three weavers are in charge of preserving the centuries old tradition of Mértolan weaving.  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum contributes significantly to the study and knowledge of the Islamic period in Portugal. While its initial focus concentrated on archaeology, in time the museum opened up to other avenues in promoting the heritage and knowledge of Islamic Mértola. This effort is visible in the Islamic Museum which showcases in a time when the region was the capital of a Taifa kingdom throughout the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.  \n  \nThese consist of objects from the excavations of the Almohad neighbourhood as well as a reconstruction of one of the excavated houses uncovered. Other elements make it possible to establish a synthesis of the missing Mértola. The model of the central mosque reminds us of the original Aljama or central mosque and funerary steles refer indicate the Islamic cemetery or maqbara which is now the subject of renewed excavation.  \n  \nThe ceramics collected during the excavations also evoke daily life in Islamic Mértola with particular reference of those crafted in the ‘cuerda seca’ technique. All in all, the Mértola Museum not only preserves the heritage of the region but also provides important insight and a basis for research into the relationship between the town and several Western Mediterranean ports during the medieval period.  \n  \nThe Mértola Museum has been part of the Portuguese Museum Network since 2002.","city":"Mértola","address":"Morada – Praça Luís de Camões  \n7750-909 Mértola, Portugal","website":"http://www.camertola.pt/","phone":"+351 286 610 100","fax":"+351 286 610 101","email":"museus@cm-mertola.pt"},"2970af60-fdee-5b70-8e87-7b8865a0c88d":{"name":"Museum of Civilisations | Museum of Oriental Art","description":"The ‘Giuseppe Tucci’ Museum of Oriental Art opened to the public in 1958 and houses finds from several Italian archaeological missions conducted in Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. As well as this are numerous objects purchased on the antique market, particularly those by Giuseppe Tucci during his voyages in Nepal and Tibet between 1928 and 1954.  \n  \nThe museum’s Islamic wing includes a rich collection of objects sourced from both archaeological excavations and private purchases. The provenance of the collection is wide-ranging including the items from the geographical territories that now make up the countries of Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia and India. Chronologically the material covers an extensive period from the 8th to 19th centuries CE. The collection is arranged along different classes of production including; ceramics, metal works, miniatures, manuscripts, numismatics, jewellery, textile art, glass, arms & armour and wood.  \n  \nOf particular importance is the collection of archaeological finds from the palace of the Ghaznavid Sultan, Mas’ud III (1099-1115 CE) in Ghazni, Afghanistan. The archaeology of the site and its associated finds was brought to light by excavations conducted by the Archaeological Mission of the IsMEO (Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente) in the 1960’s. These consist mainly of elements of architectural decorations in brick and marble, marble funerary stones, ceramics and metals.  \n  \nThe museum's collection of Persian objects can be dated from the 8th to the 19th centuries. Ceramics from the Samanid (9th- 10th century) and Seljuk (11th -12th century) periods are well represented in the Museum collections. Ilkhanid period ceramics (13th -14th century), known for their use of ‘lajvardina’ glaze technique is also visible in the collections. The majority of metal objects within the Islamic collection stem from the Khorasan region of Eastern Iran and Western Afghanistan, a well-known historic centre for metallurgical production.  \n  \n\\*\\*\\*  \n  \nSince September 2016, the National Museum of Oriental Art in Rome has merged into the new Museum of Civilisation, definitively closing in October 2017 for the transfer to its new headquarters in the Palazzo delle Scienze. While awaiting the definitive re-arrangement planned for the end of 2021, a temporary exhibition called “Open for Works” exhibits over 650 objects from the Oriental Museum (of which about 60 is considered Islamic Art) in the rooms of the Pigorini Museum.","city":"Rome","address":"Museo delle Civiltà | Museo d’arte orientale “Giuseppe Tucci”  \nPiazza Guglielmo Marconi, 14  \n00144 Rome, Italy","website":"https://www.museodellecivilta.it/","phone":"+39 06 549521","fax":"+39 06 54952310","email":"mu-civ@cultura.gov.it"},"2a1f5dae-29fa-5a0c-ae24-b5bff11ef40a":{"name":"National Museum of Qatar","description":"Since its founding in 1975, the National Museum of Qatar (NMoQ) has stood as a powerful symbol of the nation’s transformation, from a society rooted in desert traditions and maritime trade to a thriving modern state. As the museum celebrates its golden jubilee in 2025, it remains a cornerstone of Qatar’s cultural identity and a living archive of its history.   \n   \nConception and Vision of the First National Museum, 1975.   \nThe museum’s story begins with the original palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani, built in 1906 along Doha’s coast. Once the seat of government and a family residence, the palace was abandoned in 1916 when Sheikh Abdullah relocated to what is now the Amiri Diwan. Recognizing its historical significance, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani selected the site in the 1970s as the foundation for the first national museum in the Gulf. The project aimed to restore the palace while creating a modern complex that reflected Qatar’s deep connection to both land and sea. The museum was designed around four core elements: the restored palace, the new state museum, a central lagoon, and the Maritime Museum.   \n  \nThe National Museum of Qatar officially opened to the public on 23 June 1975, with its mission to preserve the country’s heritage and educate future generations. The Museum Committee, formed in the early 1970s, played a crucial role in sourcing artifacts, shaping exhibitions, and ensuring the museum represented all aspects of Qatari life. Their grassroots approach made the museum a shared national project and a reflection of the people it served.   \n  \nTwo years later, in 1977, the Maritime Museum was inaugurated by the Father Amir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, highlighting Qatar’s maritime heritage and introducing the Gulf’s first public aquarium. Designed in collaboration with Michael Rice Consulting, it remains one of the museum’s most remembered immersive features, celebrating Qatar’s legacy of pearl diving, fishing and seafaring. Its location by the waterfront paid tribute to the nation’s historic bond with the ocean.   \n   \nThe new National Museum    \nThe NMoQ’s current building, inaugurated on 28 March 2019 by His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar, was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel. Inspired by the desert rose, the structure features a dramatic composition of interlocking discs that envelop the historic palace at its core symbolizing Qatar’s deep connection to both land and sea. The museum was developed under the leadership of Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, chairperson of Qatar Museums reinforcing Qatar’s cultural vision on the global stage.   \n  \nThe museum unfolds across eleven immersive galleries over 10,000 square meters, guiding visitors along a 1.5-kilometer journey through Qatar’s natural history, heritage and development. Through films, digital displays, commissioned artworks, models, music and even evocative scents, the museum offers a multi-sensory experience that brings Qatar’s story to life. Over 3,700 square meters of space is dedicated to large-scale wall projections that echo the curvature of Nouvel’s architecture, seamlessly blending content with design.   \n  \nOver the past five decades, the NMoQ has grown into a world-class cultural hub. It has expanded its collections, embraced digital innovation and hosted global and international exhibitions while staying true to its founding mission. The influence of early visionaries like Sheikh Khalifa and the Museum Committee still guides its path today, ensuring community engagement and cultural pride remain at its heart.   \n  \nAs Qatar looks to the future, the National Museum of Qatar continues to serve as a bridge between past and present – a vibrant space where tradition meets innovation, and where the nation’s story is preserved, celebrated and passed on to generations to come.   \n  \nAuthor: Tania Al-Majid – Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs","city":"Doha","address":"POB 2777 Doha","website":"https://qm.org.qa/ar/"},"2a23d23f-5624-56f3-828f-3db6b5689a95":{"name":"The Metropolitan Museum of Art","description":"The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in three iconic sites in New York City – The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.  \n  \nSince it was founded in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.  \n  \nThe Met Fifth Avenue  \n1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street)  \nNew York, NY 10028  \n+1 212 535 7710  \nSunday–Thursday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nFriday and Saturday: 10:00am–9:00pm  \n  \nThe Met Breuer  \n945 Madison Avenue  \nNew York, NY 10021  \n+1 212 731 1675  \nClosed Monday  \nTuesday and Wednesday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nThursday and Friday: 10:00am–9:00pm  \nSaturday and Sunday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \n  \nThe Met Cloisters  \n99 Margaret Corbin Drive, Fort Tryon Park  \nNew York, NY 10040  \n+1 212 923 3700  \nMarch–October: 10:00am–5:15pm  \nMay 27–September 2, 2016: Open late on Fridays until 7:30pm  \nNovember–February: 10:00am–4:45pm  \n  \nAll locations closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1. The Met Fifth Avenue closed the first Monday in May.","city":"New York","address":"The Met Fifth Avenue  \n1000 Fifth Avenue (at 82nd Street)  \nNew York, NY 10028  \nSunday–Thursday: 10:00am–5:30pm  \nFriday and Saturday: 10:00am–9:00pm","website":"http://www.metmuseum.org","phone":"+1 212 535 7710"},"2b67bf65-83b3-524f-8614-d81d59a41063":{"name":"Yıldız Palace Museum","description":"Yıldız Palace is located on the Yıldız hill. Sultan Ahmed I was the first to build a pavilion there. At the end of the 18th century, Sultan Selim III built Yıldız Pavilion and a fountain. Sultan Abdülaziz built the State Apartments, Cit Pavilion, Malta and Cadir Kiosks.  \n  \nThe main construction started under Sultan Abdülhamid II (1876–1909). It was called Saray-I Hümayun (Central Palace) and comprised buildings for the sultan’s private use and for officials, repair shops and carpentry, a theatre, a museum, a library, Hasbahce inner garden and small independent buildings.  \n  \nAfter Sultan Vahidettin’s reign, the palace was allocated to the Staff Officers’ Academy. It was handed over to the Ministry of Culture in 1978 and began to serve as a museum under the name of “Directorate of the Museum of Yıldız Palace” from 1993.  \n\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_\\_  \n  \nThe Museum is no longer under the responsibility of the Ministry of Cuture but has been transferred to the Presidency. It is currently closed and under restoration (March 2019).","city":"Istanbul","address":"Barbaros Bulvarı  \nSerencebey Yokuşu, 62  \n34349 Beşiktaş, Istanbul  \nTurkey"},"2b938ebe-ef9a-5f29-bf39-4d90124062e7":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the architectural capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","fax":"+34 91 432 68 40","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"2bb1dd80-9c9b-5b6c-95f5-603929bd863d":{"name":"Victoria and Albert Museum","description":"The Victoria and Albert (V&A) is the world’s leading museum of art and design, with collections unrivalled in their scope and diversity. When the museum opened to the public in 1852, its mission was to reform design by making works of art available to all, improving the public’s understanding of the subject and providing inspiration for designers and manufacturers. Today, the V&A’s collections span over 5,000 years of human creativity in virtually every medium and from many parts of the world.  \n  \nThe V&A comprises a family of sites, including the V&A in South Kensington, Young V&A located in Bethnal Green, V&A Dundee in Scotland, the V&A Wedgwood Collection housed in Barlaston, Stoke-on-Trent, V&A Gallery at Design Society in Shekou, China, and opening in 2024/25 will be V&A East located within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford. Across these sites the museum showcases their collections to a wide range of audiences and aims to champion design and creativity in all its forms.","city":"London","address":"Cromwell Road  \nSouth Kensington  \nLondon SW7 2RL  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"www.vam.ac.uk","phone":"+44 20 7942 2000","fax":"+44 20 7942 2335","email":"contact@vam.ac.uk"},"2d1fcee2-b5ee-57c9-9036-8389d4947106":{"name":"Budapest History Museum","description":"In 2007 the Budapest History Museum celebrated the 120th anniversary of its foundation and the 100th anniversary of its first exhibition. The state-sponsored Museum is located at 10 sites among which are three museums – the Royal Palace, the Kiscell Museum and the Aquincum Museum – there are also the Turkish Burial Chapel of Gül Baba, the Medieval Synagogue, Hercules Villa and the Roman Baths.  \n  \nThe archaeologists at the Budapest History Museum lead excavations within the the capital and its surroundings, collect objects, documents and other works of art, and carry out research into the history of Budapest from the Palaeolithic era to the present. The museum publishes periodicals and other papers on the history of the city, and its experts participate in international research projects.  \n  \nIncorporated into the former Royal Castle, the Medieval Palace of Buda, was the seat of the Hungarian kings. Here, Permanent exhibitions present a historical survey of Buda and Pest from the Palaeolithic era to the end of the Avar period, and the history of Buda and Pest from the 17th to the 20th century. Famous Gothic statues found in the late 1970s are on display as are relics from the Middle Ages.  \n  \nIn the Baroque Monastery and Church of Kiscell, a permanent exhibition elucidates the history of the capital from the 19th to the 20th century, together with a gallery showing a selection of artworks by 19th- and 20th- century artists.  \n  \nThe Aquincum archaeological site provides working evidence of recent excavations, while a permanent exhibition in the late 19th-century museum building displays objects excavated on this site dating from the Antique Roman period. A new exhibition hall is currently under construction in a former electricity station built in 1930; it will provide a new, extensive exhibition on the history of ancient times.  \n  \nTemporary exhibitions are held in rooms on the ground floor and in the first-floor exhibition hall.","city":"Budapest","address":"Budapest History Museum  \nBuda Castle Building \"E\"  \nSzent György tér 2  \nBudapest 1014  \nHungary","website":"http://www.btm.hu","phone":"+36 1 487 8800","fax":"+36 1 487 8872","email":"btm@mail.btm.hu"},"31de84d4-3de2-5ea1-b1d4-c8712cbcb314":{"name":"Museum of Arts and Crafts","description":"The Museum of Arts and Crafts was founded in 1880 by the Croatian Art Society.  \n  \nThe organisation of the Museum derived from the theoretical foundations of the Arts and Crafts movement. In keeping with the spirit of the times, the Arts and Crafts School was opened in 1882. The new headquarters building of the Museum and the School was completed in 1888, in the old Fair Square, today's Marshal Tito Square.  \n  \nThe basic collections of museum objects were created mostly from the donations of patriots. They were augmented through the purchase of several important collections from private collectors and also by programmed acquisitions, both within the country and from abroad.  \n  \nUp to World War One the Museum's scientific, professional and collection policy respected the conception laid down in the original motives underlying its establishment.  \n  \nBetween the two World Wars the concept of the Museum changed from being a collection of items to a cultural, historical and artistic institution.  \n  \nAfter World War Two the concept of modern museum communication became important, with many activities intended to involve the public.  \n  \nThe permanent display, opened in 1962, was of particular importance. Its backbone was the collection of furniture which, guided by the idea of a complex art museum that values equally all the fields of plastic arts design, was displayed in synthesis with other objects.  \n  \nThe present permanent display, created in 1995, has built on the positive experiences of earlier displays and has been broadened by new thematic units. With modern spatial differentiation and new multimedia contents the museum has become an experience which, by placing the visitor in an atmosphere of tangible historical heritage, essentially determines him or her as a cultural being.  \n  \nFor the Baroque period the Museum's holdings include many outstanding European artefacts, especially in the applied arts, including one of the largest collections of Baroque church art in Croatia.","city":"Zagreb","address":"Trg maršala Tita, 10  \n10000 Zagreb  \nCroatia","website":"http://www.muo.hr","phone":"+385 1 4882111","fax":"+385 1 4828088","email":"muo@muo.hr"},"325b7505-1527-5442-99ea-6a40f8c43d3f":{"name":"Islamic Museum at Al-Aqsa Mosque","description":"The museum was officially inaugurated in AH 1341 / AD 1922. In AH 1348 / AD 1929, it was transferred to its present site in the southwestern corner of the Haram al-Sharif. The museum is administered through the Department of Islamic Awqaf in Jerusalem, under the auspices of the Ministry of Jordanian Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Places.  \n  \nThe museum comprises three buildings with an exhibition space of over 1,000 square m. The oldest hall is from the AH 6th / AD 12th century and is a rare Crusader monument in the holy city. The second hall was an Ayyubid mosque (AH 7th / AD 13th century) historically known as al-Malikiya mosque or the Jami’a al-Mughariba. The third hall is known as the *al-Fakhriya* corner and its history goes back to the Mamluk period (AH 8th / AD 14th century).  \n  \nThe collection consists of artefacts and remains from the Islamic and non-Islamic epochs, representing various facets of Islamic civilisation ranging in geography, theme and period. Most of the artefacts represent the heritage of al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem and Palestine at large including cities such as Hebron and Nablus.  \n  \nThe museum contains woodwork from different Islamic eras, the oldest dating to the Umayyad period. Metalwork in iron, copper and silver includes the iron enclosure from the Dome of the Rock, candlesticks, swords, daggers, daises, incense burners, coins, rings and memorial pieces. The collection includes marble and glazed tiles that panelled the the Dome of the Rock in the period of Sultan Sülayman the Magnificent (r. AH 926–74 / AD 1520–66) and his successors. There is a collection of earthenware, inscriptions on stone from different Islamic periods and its precursors, and columns and capitals from the Roman and Byzantine periods. There is a valuable collection of Qur’ans, the oldest from the AH 9th / AD 15 th century, and many Mamluk manuscripts whose themes deal with social and economic life in the holy city. The museum displays part of its textile collection, with costumes, grave coverings, pieces from the *kiswa* (covering) of the Ka’ba and pieces of carpet.","city":"Jerusalem","address":"Al-Haram al-Sharif  \nAmro  \nP.O. Box 75085  \nJerusalem","website":"http://www.facebook.com/islamic.museum1922/","phone":"02 6283286","fax":"02 6283286","email":"jerusalem.museum@gmail.com"},"33f89573-8b54-5c1a-86ba-1663e604740f":{"name":"Jordan Archaeological Museum","description":"The museum was founded in 1951 by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan on the Citadel of Amman on a hill called Jabal al-Qal’a. The building has a total measurement of 525 m2 on two floors. The ground floor is used for storage, and the first floor comprises the display area, which consists of three exhibition halls, and administrative offices.  \n  \nThe museum holds many artefacts found in various archaeological sites in Jordan representing the path of civilization in this area throughout its long history. The extensive collection is arranged chronologically by historical periods, from the Stone Ages to the Islamic periods.  \n  \nThe Islamic art collection is displayed in an exhibition hall in eleven showcases that consist of: pottery vessels from the Umayyad period to the Mamluk period; glazed vessels from the Mamluk period to the Ottoman period; steatite vessels from the Umayyad period; coins of all types and periods; metalwork and pottery vessels from the Umayyad to Mamluk periods; iron shields and swords from the Mamluk period; carved stones from the Umayyad period; four plaster replicas of architectural elements from Khirbat al-Mafjar Palace in Jericho (windows, lintel and a dome from the bath).  \n  \nLack of space prohibits the display of temporary exhibitions; however, the museum participates in many local and international exhibitions held in Jordan and abroad to show the history and archaeology of Jordan throughout the ages.  \n  \nThree curators sharing the responsibility of looking after the whole collection of the museum.","city":"Amman","address":"Citadel of Amman  \nP.O. Box 88  \nAmman, Jordan","phone":"+962 6 463 8795","fax":"+962 6 461 9768"},"36670bdc-150b-5f89-8906-79b8e4e2518d":{"name":"The David Collection","description":"The David Collection was founded by C. L. David (1878-1960), a prominent Danish attorney, who had begun to collect fine and decorative art in the 1910s. In this last field, he was aided by directors of the Danish Museum of Art and Design, who gradually also guided him to another area that had previously attracted little interest in Denmark: Islamic art. The Islamic part of David’s collection was, however, still rather modest at the time of his death in 1960.  \n  \nA bachelor and childless, C. L. David left his Copenhagen townhouse and works of art to a private foundation, along with financial means that made it possible to expand his collections. From the 1970s, a decision was consequently made to place increasing emphasis on expanding the Islamic holdings. The Islamic Collection has grown to become not only the museum’s most important, with over 4,000 objects, but also Scandinavia’s most significant in its field.  \n  \nThe Islamic Collection has been built up in keeping with the classical pattern for Western collections of this kind. It embodies works of art from Spain in the west to India in the east, but not works from Sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia. Chronologically, the collection ranges from works dating to shortly after the advent of Islam to the middle of the 19th century. The collection encompasses all types of materials, but since the small rooms of 19th-century buildings like C. L. David’s townhouse, now the museum’s home, make it impossible to exhibit large objects, the museum consequently has only a modest collection of carpets, and they are either of small size or fragments of larger carpets.  \n  \nFollowing the museum’s refurbishment and reinstallation of its collections in 2009, the David Collection is now divided into three parts: European 18th-Century Art, Danish Early Modern Art, and Islamic Art. The collection of Islamic Art is presented in a new, contemporary setting, enhanced by digital and other modern techniques used to elucidate the objects on display. The backbone of the collection is 20 chronological/geographical sections, but the display also contains special galleries for light-sensitive materials as well as others dedicated to themes such as cultural history and artistic techniques.","city":"Copenhagen","address":"Kronprinsessegade, 30  \nCopenhagen  \nDenmark  \n  \nPostal address: Kronprinsessegade 30-32","website":"http://www.davidmus.dk/en","phone":"+45 33734949","fax":"+45 33734948","email":"museum@davidmus.dk"},"36dd7a00-ac4e-5317-9673-604bbb89af53":{"name":"Museum of Oriental Art (Fondazione Torino Musei)","description":"Turin’s new Museum of Oriental Art marks the culmination of various strands of interest in this field: the city boasts a long tradition of Oriental studies at the university – backed by the presence of a major centre for specialised research (CESMEO), while the past few years have seen a growing realisation of the need to create specific instruments to further our knowledge and understanding of distant cultural worlds. A museum that displays artistic creations from different cultures not only fulfils its own vocation as a repository for their conservation and exhibition, but above all prompts visitors to expand their own ethnocentric horizons.  \n  \nThese were some of the underlying grounds that led to the idea of creating a Museum of Oriental Art (MAO), in Turin based on the redefinition, renewal and expansion of the Oriental Section of the Civic Museum of Ancient Art.  \n  \nThe new museum, stands in one of the city’s most lively and fascinating areas, is housed in Palazzo Mazzonis, which was built between the 17th and the 18th century, known, which was formerly owned by the Marquis Solaro della Chiusa before being passed in 1870 to Chevalier Paolo Mazzonis, a textile magnate. After becoming the head office of the Manifattura Mazzonis, extensive improvements were carried out, especially on the first floor. The Mazzonis business failed in 1968 and the building remained unused. It was purchased by Turin City Council in 1980 and restored to house a section of the law court from 1982 to 2001 and finally, after appropriate restoration became site of a museum.  \n  \nThe Museum now contains some 1500 works from all over Asia. The rooms used for the permanent exhibition are divided into five separate “galleries”, which have fitted naturally into the structural layout of the building.  \n  \nThe MAO aspires to be as representative as possible in its choice of artworks from the various countries: its collections include the major cultural traditions from the continent, building on the important collections already owned by various institutions in Turin, whose directly inspired the proposed layout for the new museum which is divided into five clearly defined cultural areas: South Asia, China, Japan, Himalayan Countries and Islamic Countries.  \n  \nThe order in which the works are presented and the accompanying exhibit labels aim to highlight the points of contact and creative interactions between the different countries at the various historical periods, reintroducing a unified interpretation to the proposed route.  \n  \nThe MAO also acts as a cultural intermediary for visitors, who are generally unfamiliar with the concepts and cultural traditions to which exhibits refer. It aims to inspire visitors to explore new forms of thought, encouraging a fuller awareness of the value of all human knowledge.  \n  \nLastly, the MAO offers a wide range of public services: multimedia stations, online catalogue on the museum’s website, bookshop, possibility of using the art library and photographic archives of Fondazione Torino Musei, seminars, conferences, temporary exhibitions, and the educational rooms.","city":"Turin","address":"Via San Domenico11  \n10122 Turin","website":"http://www.maotorino.it","phone":"+39 01 14 43 69 27","fax":"+39 01 14 43 69 18","email":"mao@fondazionetorinomusei.it"},"3acfd33c-e4e0-5b37-a94a-380f38913853":{"name":"National Museum of Aleppo","description":"The earliest collection of art and archaeological artefacts for the National Museum of Aleppo dates back to 1928 and the museum was formally inaugurated in1931. Initially it was devoted to the pre-Greco-Roman era, with works no later than 333 BC, most of which were based on finds from Tell Halaf. It was decided to move the collection from its original location in an Ottoman period building, which had become overcrowded, into a modern purpose-built museum, begun in 1967 and formally opened in 1972. It includes the following wings:  \n  \nPre-historic art: dedicated to finds such as bones and pottery from the regions of Syria and the Euphrates Valley. Some items are about a million years old and the most recent piece dates to no later than 3,200 BC, after which writing was developed and art became historic.  \n  \nAncient Near Eastern art from Syria: one of the most important sections containing pieces from Tell Halaf, Mari, Ugarit, Ebla and other significant sites of early Near Eastern civilisations, all displayed in chronological order in three large wings.  \n  \nClassical art from the Greek, Roman and Byzantine periods: pottery, coins, a number of limestone funerary carvings from the ancient city of Mambij, and a collection of Roman and Byzantine glass flasks used for perfume, eye-kohl and drugs are some of this section's main features, all displayed chronologically.  \n  \nArab Islamic art: The method of display here is based on the item's function and medium, such as pottery, ceramics, metalwork and glass of the various Islamic dynasties as well as a collection of gold and silver coins of the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. A stone cenotaph carved in floriated kufic calligraphy is a masterpiece of this hall. Medieval military equipment and an Ottoman wooden ceiling featured in a side chamber are also presented.  \n  \nModern art: paintings by Syrian artists, particularly Aleppines, expressed in various styles such as realism, cubism, expressionism.","city":"Aleppo","address":"Al-Ma'arri Street  \nAleppo, Syria","phone":"+963 21 2122400","fax":"+963 21 2122402"},"3b73a306-1129-5c8d-acba-8e34a39e132f":{"name":"The British Museum","description":"The British Museum was established by Act of Parliament in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all “studious and curious persons”. The founding collection was that of Sir Hans Sloane, a wealthy physician and collector. The original British Museum comprised three departments: Printed Books; Manuscripts (including coins); and Natural and Artificial Productions, which included everything from sculpture to mineral samples and zoological specimens. In January 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the public.  \n  \nAs a product of the Enlightenment, the museum's job was to be a storehouse of knowledge for the use and benefit of the public, advancing all fields of scholarship. The museum therefore aimed to collect all kinds of material; it remains one of the few places in the world in which it is possible to see the world under one roof. During the 19th century the museum acquired representative collections of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, as well as material from across the Islamic world.  \n  \nThe museum itself had to grow to offer space to display the growing collections. Between 1823 and 1847 the original building was replaced by four large wings built around a central courtyard. In 1854 construction began on the iconic Round Reading Room in the central courtyard. The natural history collections were given their own home in the new Museum of Natural History in 1881. By 1973 the British Library and British Museum were administratively separated, and in 1999 the new British Library building opened at St Pancras. The British Museum site was expanded and modernised. In 2000 the Great Court opened, envisioned as a sunny piazza at the centre of the building, with up-to-date facilities such as lecture theatres, an education centre and facilities for school children, as well as restaurants and shops. In 2014 the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened to the public, offering state-of-the-art facilities to care for, manage, research and display the collections.","city":"London","address":"Great Russell St., London WC1B 3DG  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.britishmuseum.org","phone":"+44 20 7323 8000 / 8299","fax":"+44 20 7323 8616","email":"information@britishmuseum.org"},"3cabd108-49d0-5d92-81a4-97d23084da2c":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The museum collection features *azulejos* (decorative ceramic tiles) from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. As well as tiles, it includes ceramics, porcelain and faience from the 19th to the 20th century. Its permanent exhibition starts with a display of the materials and techniques used for manufacturing tiles. The National Tile Museum was established in 1965 and became a national museum in 1980. It is located in the former Convent of Madre de Deus, founded by Queen D. Leonor in 1509. The museum underwent different building campaigns that involved transformations such as in its 16th-century mannerist cloister.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisboa  \nPortugal","website":"www.museudoazulejo.pt","phone":"+351 218 100 340","fax":"+351 218 100 369","email":"geral@mnazulejo.dgpc.pt"},"3eb798ec-9543-5a63-ba38-c22270fbbe84":{"name":"University Museum of Islamic Art | The Bumiller Collection","description":"An exceptional collection of early Islamic bronzes is housed in a historical town-house in the heart of the old city of Bamberg. The objects mostly originate from the Persianate world what is today Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. The collection is completed by a significant number of ceramics, glass and ivory objects as well as numismatics and manuscripts. The many-sided compilation includes nearly all objects of daily life. Writing equipment, cosmetic utensils, jugs, bowls, trays, fumigating vessels, oil lamps, jewellery, mirrors and the like give a fascinating insight into the life along the Silk Road in the Middle Ages. The exhibition shows the development of forms as well as the high standard of metallurgy mastered by medieval craftsmen in the region. The most ambitious décor and production techniques such as repoussé, punching, engraving and damascening that Islamic art put forth during the centuries are represented among the objects of the collection.  \n  \nIt is the Bumiller Art Foundation's concern to present most diverse products of Islamic metallurgy and to make them available for research and learning. The museum continuously serves as a venue for researchers, students and all those interested in Islamic art.","city":"Bamberg","address":"Austraße 29  \n96047 Bamberg  \nGermany","website":"http://www.the-bumiller-collection.com","phone":"+49 951 25954","email":"info@the-bumiller-collection.com"},"400b4019-e025-5ffe-b2a6-16f7bf722698":{"name":"National Foundation of Museums","description":"Since its creation in 2011, at the suggestion of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the National Foundation of Museums has occupied a prominent place in Morocco’s cultural landscape. The NFM’s core mission is to include culture as an economic and social factor in the development of the Kingdom.  \nMuseums have varying aims, but a primary goal is to preserve our history and our multiple identities. Museums offer abundant collections of various rare and unique works of art, and objects that perpetuate the transmission of the rich and diverse heritage of previous civilisations.  \nThe NFM supports national museums in many ways, from restoration and modernisation of buildings to the upgrading of exhibition facilities. The NFM welcomes and features renowned national and international artists in its museums, and exhibits items from our artistic, ethnographic and archaeological heritage.  \nThe National Foundation of Museums now has eighteen open museums across the Kingdom, and will soon open more museum spaces to the public.","city":"Rabat","address":"31, avenue Alaouiyine, quartier Hassan  \nRabat, Morocco","website":"https://fnm.ma/","phone":"+212 5 30 67 60 81","fax":"+212 5 30 67 60","email":"contact@fnm.ma"},"40411e66-c284-545a-b2ef-8e0e8a2c7f6e":{"name":"MKG Museum for Applied Arts","description":"The Museum for Applied Arts (Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg) is a museum of applied arts highlighting design, photography, fashion and graphic arts and crafts. The MKG was inaugurated in 1877 under its founding director Justus Brinckmann (1843-1915).  \n  \nThe Museums houses about 500,000 objects of art and design, covering a geographical scope from Europe, the Mediterranean Regions, to West and Asia. Over 4000 years of history of design and culture are presented, from Antiquity to the Present Age.  \n  \nThe Islamic Art wing is the oldest of its kind in Germany and has been part of the museum since its foundation. Justus Brinckmann acquired objects labelled Islamic Art in the context of the World Fairs in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1889). The initial focus of the collection were tiles and ceramics, which were acquired as decorative art.  \n  \nThe collection is significant for its outstanding individual objects. For example the *Divan Muhibbi* an illuminated volume of poetry (1554) by Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent or parts of the tile paneling of Buyan Kuli Khan’s mausoleum in Bukhara (Uzbekistan), fragments of a 16th century. Another masterpiece of the collection is a Safavid royal carpet.","city":"Hamburg","address":"Steintorplatz,  \nHamburg  \nGermany","website":"http://www.mkg-hamburg.de/","phone":"+49 (0)40 428134-880","fax":"+49 (0)40 428134-999","email":"service@mkg-hamburg.de"},"42eb1281-cf64-5be3-9aeb-3b6b9a72e3f7":{"name":"National Museum in Kraków ‒ MNK","description":"The National Museum in Kraków ‒ MNK, founded in 1879, is the oldest public museum in Poland.  \n  \nThe Museum stores rich collections of European and world cultural heritage ‒ almost 780,000 objects from every period of history.  \n  \nThe core of the collection is Polish art (painting, sculpture, drawing and decorative art), though there are also numerous western European works, a collection of religious art related to the Orthodox Church, and an extremely valuable collection of Oriental art, mainly from Japan.  \n  \nThe MNK possesses a separate collection of ancient art, collections of medieval and modern art, craft, arms and armour and recent works acquired from contemporary artists. Besides works of art, the Museum also keeps library collections (including old prints, manuscripts and cartography), numismatics and historical photographs.  \n  \nThe Museum also conducts scientific research and conservation in its own conservation workshops.  \n  \nThe Museum popularises this valuable heritage by arranging permanent exhibitions, temporary exhibitions in Poland and abroad, as well as various educational workshops for adults and children, realised in cooperation with many societies and foundations. The best evidence of the Museum’s commitment and event-management skills is seen in the numbers: in 2015, over 800,000 visitors attended exhibitions and events organised by the MNK.  \n  \nIn addition, the National Museum in Kraków is recognised for its record of realising local, national and international projects funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. To fulfil its mission, the Museum protects the national legacy put in its care, and in doing so applies the latest technologies, yet not without due respect for tradition.","city":"Kraków","address":"Al. 3 Maja, 1  \n30-062 Kraków  \nPoland","website":"http://www.mnk.pl","phone":"+48 12 433 55 00","fax":"+48 12 433 55 55","email":"dyrekcja@mnk.pl"},"42fb6391-e1f6-527a-85db-f9638b02d667":{"name":"Higher Institute for the Study of Contemporary History of Tunisia, University of Manouba","description":"The Higher Institute for the Study of Contemporary History of Tunisia (ISHCT) is a research centre for contemporary history in Tunisia. It houses a microfilm archive, audio-visual witness records, a collection of photographs and a library available on request to researchers, journalists, activists and students wishing to conduct in-depth research into the history of the colonisation and decolonisation of Tunisia. There are four research and study units (UER) bringing together historical researchers dedicated to using the different resources to improve understanding of this period of Tunisian history: UER Archives, UER Repositories of Memory and Museums, UER Oral History and UER History. Through the publication of a review (RAWAFID), conference papers, seminars and scientific meetings, memories from witnesses and document collections, ISHCT hopes to enhance the university library in line with advances in documentation and  methodology, thereby helping to stimulate research into this historical period by setting up scientific exchanges in Tunisia and abroad.","city":"Tunis","address":"Campus Universitaire de la Manouba,  \n2010 La Manouba  \nTunis  \nTunisia","phone":"+216 716 009 50","fax":"+216 716 002 77","email":"ishmn@ishmn.rnu.tn"},"4ab46509-e7a3-56bf-8e30-734b61d97e56":{"name":"Umm Qays Archaeological Museum","description":"This museum, opened to the public in 1987, is located in a renovated historical building (late 19th century) constructed on the acropolis from basalt and limestone. The exhibition space consists of two vaulted halls in which artefacts uncovered in the course of excavation at the ancient site of Gadara (Umm Qays) are displayed. Mosaic panels, marble statues and carved basalt sarcophagi are exhibited in the courtyard of the museum.","city":"Irbid","address":"P.O.B. 62  \nIrbid, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 7500072","fax":"+962 2 7500071"},"4df52263-9f4f-577a-8758-36bd2784101b":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The *azulejo* is one of the most characteristic expressions of Portuguese fine arts and one of the elements that clearly identify the Portuguese culture and aesthetic language. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo acts as a showcase for the immense ceramic heritage found in many places in Portugal. It is one of the most important museums in the country and is unparalleled in Portugal due to its unique collection, as well as for the building where it is located - the ancient Convent of Madre de Deus (Mother of God), founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458-1525), a peerless work of Portuguese religious architecture. Following major works undertaken on the orders of D. João III (1502-1566), further works followed in the reigns of D. Pedro II (1648-1706) and D. João V (1689-1750). Gilt wood carvings covered the altars and picture frames, articulating with the blue .  \nThe collection covers the production of *azulejo* from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. In addition to the *azulejo* the collection integrates ceramics, porcelain and faïence of the 19th and 20th centuries.  \nThe route allows the visitant to have an overview of the history of the *azulejo* production in the Portuguese territory until the present day, as well as to visit the spaces of the ancient convent, with particular reference to the Church, the chapter-house, the cloisters and the Chapel of Saint Anthony.  \nThe exhibition begins with the Islamic origins of the *azulejo*, seen in both its name and the techniques and decoration used. From this brief introduction, the expository route follows a chronological organization. The highlights of the exhibition include an *azulejo* made in Seville c.1508-1509 with the armillary sphere (king D. Manuel's personal symbol), the retable of *Nossa Senhora da Vida* (Lisbon, c.1580), the pattern compositions and the altar frontals of the 17th century, *The Leopard Hunt* and *Singerie: The Marriage of the Hen* (Lisbon, 17th century), the commissions of the blue and white tiles to The Netherlands (also covering the Church's walls) and the Portuguese production, the *Grand Panorama of Lisbon* (Lisbon, c.1700) and the modern and contemporary artists.  \nThe Museu Nacional do Azulejo has one of the best and most complete collections of contemporary authorial revetments, displaying the multiple proposals produced in recent times.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisboa","website":"http://www.museudoazulejo.pt/","phone":"+351 21 8100340","fax":"+351 21 8100369","email":"geral@mnazulejo.dgpc.pt"},"52bbcbf2-d512-5cee-84fb-7c32c794a84f":{"name":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","description":"Built in Honolulu, Hawai'i from 1936–1938, Shangri La overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head and houses Doris Duke’s (1912–1993) collection of Islamic art. Of the many homes that Duke inhabited, Shangri La is the only one that she built from the ground up and filled from the inside out.  \n  \nThe five-acre complex integrates a 14,000-square-foot house, a Playhouse, and a pool, comprising a series of interlocking spaces, both indoors and out: rooms, courtyards, lanais, terraces, gardens, and numerous water features. While design and early construction were underway, Duke traveled extensively in the Middle East, visiting historical monuments and providing the architect with photographs of architectural decoration to be incorporated into Shangri La's design. She also placed large commissions with contemporary artisans in India, Morocco, Iran, and Syria to create art and architectural elements, utilizing traditional forms, patterns, and means of fabrication.  \n  \nFor nearly 60 years, Doris Duke continued to collect Islamic art, ultimately forming a collection of about 2,500 objects, many of which are embedded into the structure of the house. Iranian ceramic tile panels, carved and painted ceilings from Morocco, jali (perforated screen) doors and windows, and textiles and carpets create a living environment of Islamic art and architectural decoration.  \n  \nThe later centuries of production (c. 1600–1940) are better represented, and ceramics, metalwork, wood, glass and textiles are favored over the arts of the book and works on paper. The collection ranges from items of the finest artistic quality, including medieval Persian tilework and painted interiors from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Damascus, to ethnographic objects such as leather saddles and a bedouin-style tent, reflecting Duke's broad and inclusive sense of aesthetics.  \n  \nToday, Shangri La is nationally recognized for its high artistic value and as one of Hawai'i's most architecturally significant homes. It is open to the public for guided tours and educational programs such as lectures, performances and occasional symposia. Shangri La also supports residencies for contemporary artists and for scholars researching Islamic art.","city":"Honolulu","address":"4055 Papu Circle  \nHonolulu, HI 96816  \nUSA","website":"http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/","phone":"(808) 734-1941","fax":"(808) 732-4361","email":"shangrilahawaii@ddcf.org"},"559ab197-7289-5af4-a295-1118bde9afce":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum, State Museums","description":"**The Museum of Islamic Art is closed from October 2023 to March 2027 due to renovation and expansion works.**  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art at the Pergamon Museum Berlin is the only institution of its kind in Germany, the oldest in the West and with its c. 93,000 pieces it houses one of the world’s finest collections of Islamic art from nearly all regions of Islamic rule.  \n  \nIts collections are especially rich in objects from an architectural context including the monumental façade of the caliphal palace of Mshatta (Jordan), dating from the mid-8th century. It is the largest artefact of Islamic Art in any museum worldwide. The unique dome from the Alhambra Palace in Granada (Spain) and 13th-century prayer niches from Kashan (Iran) and Konya (Turkey) are among the highlights. Most loved by our visitors is the finely painted wooden panelling of an upper-class house from Aleppo (Syria) from the early 17th century – it is the oldest surviving exemplar from the Ottoman World. Among the several archaeological groups from major excavations in the Islamic world the finds from the 9th-century caliphal capital of Samarra (Iraq) stand out. The collection also has a large number of important Ottoman and Persian carpets and bibliographical works of art, including numerous miniatures from the Mughal Empire.  \n  \nThe collection is displayed chronologically, allowing the visitor to follow the different stylistic phases of Islamic art and to develop a notion of the complex Islamic history and its artistic merits. Because of the large number of visitors (up to 900,000 yearly), only a small number of the most important works of art are on display. The museum will move inside Pergamon-Museum and will triple its exhibition space (3,000sq.m) by 2020. The layout and concept will discover new and innovative ways to present the cultural legacy.  \n  \nWith its rich art and archaeological collection, the Museum of Islamic Art is one of the leading research institutions dedicated to the material culture of the Middle East and neighbouring regions. Our many research, conservation and exhibition projects amount to a probing investigation of the urban legacies of the Near and Middle East. The institution houses important collections of archival photographs on Islamic art and architecture as well as an internationally outstanding library focused on art, architecture and archaeology in the world of Islam.","city":"Berlin","address":"Geschwister-Scholl-Straße, 6  \n10117 Berlin  \nGermany","website":"http://www.smb.museum/museen-und-einrichtungen/museum-fuer-islamische-kunst/home.html","phone":"+49 30 266 42 5201","fax":"+49 30 266 42 5202","email":"isl@smb.spk-berlin.de"},"57de3063-0978-5145-a700-a8b94f7e17a6":{"name":"Open Museum Initiative for Water Cultures","description":"The Open Museum Initiative for Water Culture is a creative initiative for the protection and revitalisation of water heritage in the Fertile Crescent and Arabian Peninsula. From its hub in Basra, where the Tigris-Euphrates river system meets the Gulf, it connects regionally through the flow of the waters and shared cultural and ecological heritage.  \n  \nThe initiative emerged from fieldwork by artist-researcher Rashad Salim with Safina Projects (since 2016), whose work to document and revive Iraq’s endangered maritime heritage highlights the role of boats as a means of movement and connection, both historically and today through the development of the Iraqi Heritage Boat Clubs Network and Water Scouts initiative.  \n  \nThe main Open Museum site was developed in 2021, when artisan builders in cooperation with Basra University’s architecture department constructed a series of buildings (using traditional reed and palm architecture techniques) to house Safina Projects’ collection. The Basra hub now includes a waterfront at Khora Marina (home of Basra Heritage Boat Club), and a maritime heritage exhibition at Basra Centre for Manuscripts and Heritage.  \n  \nThe collection includes traditional and historic boats and boat models; artifacts such as tools, materials and equipment used in boatbuilding and related crafts; and displays of archival photography and visual research. It continues to grow through workshops, study and creative development. Activities include educational and artistic projects, participation in conferences and festivals, and collaboration with local and international partners to build capacity in the maritime heritage and crafts sector.","city":"Basra","address":"Presidential Palaces Compound (adjacent to Basra Cultural Museum), Basra 61031","website":"https://www.watermuseums.net/network/open-museum-of-water-culture-basra-hub/","phone":"+964 771 125 2536"},"580cdad2-5404-58c6-b0fb-d45e73ede7cb":{"name":"Edirne Museum","description":"The Edirne Archaeology and Ethnography Museum, opened in 1971, consists of archaeology and ethnography sections and a garden exhibition area. Located near the eastern gate of Selimiye Mosque, it stands beside the grounds where Ottoman tombstones are displayed. At the entrance, an Aiol column capital from the Enez temple greets visitors, while the southern section highlights Ottoman water culture with examples such as Edirne fishponds and birdhouses.  \n  \nThe ethnography halls feature Balkan traditional clothes, calligraphy samples, carpets, rugs and reconstructions of spaces such as the Edirne Bridal Room and a Living Room. Among the exhibits are also items personally used by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk during his visit to Edirne.  \n  \nThe archaeology section begins with fossils, including rhino and horse remains discovered in the region. Thracian artifacts, such as cavalry relief steles and marble statues, are displayed alongside finds from excavations. Enez, once an important port city linking the Balkans, Anatolia and the Aegean, provides some of the museum’s most valuable objects. Excavations there, conducted since 1971, revealed continuous settlement from the Neolithic Age to the present. Engraved amphorae, terracotta figurines, ceramics, marble pieces, steles and ornaments highlight this collection.  \nArtifacts seized at border gates such as Kapıkule and İpsala, together with a diverse range of Anatolian Civilizations objects, enrich the museum. Glassware, jewellery, terracotta works, statues and thousands of coins are exhibited, offering a wide perspective on the region’s cultural heritage.","city":"Edirne","address":"Meydan Mah. Kadirpaşa Mektep Sok. No:7","website":"https://www.turkishmuseums.com/museum/detail/2037-edirne-museum/2037/4","phone":"+90 284 225 11 20"},"5a99ecbe-b976-5037-8760-a07c629142f6":{"name":"Kunsthistorisches Museum","description":"The Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna is one of the foremost museums in the world, with rich holdings comprising artworks from seven millennia - from Ancient Egypt to the late 18th century. The collections of Renaissance and Baroque art are of particular importance.  \n  \nThe KHM’s extensive holdings are on show at different locations: the main building on Ringstrasse houses the Picture Gallery, the Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities, the Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, the Coin Collection and the Kunstkammer.  \n  \nOther collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum are housed in the Neue Burg (i.e. the Collection of Historical Musical Instruments, the Collection of Arms and Armour, and the Ephesus Museum), in Hofburg Palace (the Treasury), and in Schönbrunn Palace (the Collection of Historical Carriages).  \n  \nThe collections on show at Ambras Palace are also part of the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.  \n  \nSince January 2001, the Museum of Ethnology on Heldenplatz and the Austrian Theatre Museum on Lobkowitz Square have been incorporated into the KHM.","city":"Vienna","address":"Burgring, 5  \n1010 Vienna","website":"http://www.khm.at/","phone":"+43 1 525 24-0","email":"info@khm.at"},"5c013bcf-6017-560b-8b5d-0ea6f0046da1":{"name":"Istanbul Archaeological Museums","description":"The name Istanbul Archaeological Museums denotes three museums under the same administration: the Archaeological Museum, the Ancient Orient Museum and the Tiled Kiosk Museum. The museum, affiliated to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, is located in Sultanahmet, on the Osman Hamdi Bey slope connecting Gülhane Park with the Topkapı Palace.  \n  \nIstanbul Archaeological Museums, displaying artifacts from civilisations of different historical periods, is one of the ten most important world-class museums designed and used as a museum building. It is also the first institution in Turkey arranged as a museum. Besides its spectacular collections, the architectural aspects of the buildings and beautiful gardens in which they are situated are of historical and natural importance.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Alemdar Caddesi,  \nOsman Hamdi Bey Yokuşu Sokak,  \n34122 Gülhane/Fatih, Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/arkeoloji","phone":"T +90 212 520 77 40-41","fax":"F +90 212 527 43 00","email":"info@istanbularkeoloji.gov.tr"},"5c8c36bb-1ee8-5468-bdc7-ec865b742d71":{"name":"National Museum of Art of Romania","description":"The National Museum of Art of Romania was founded in 1948 with works drawn from local private and public collections, as well as from the royal collection. It has been housed ever since in the former royal palace situated in the very heart of Bucharest. The Museum is home to the largest and finest art collection in the country. The current holdings, which include over 100,000 works, are divided among five curatorial departments, one of them dedicated to Oriental art.  \n  \nSince its establishment in 1954, the Oriental art collection of the Museum has been steadily expanded and consolidated around two main areas of interest: Islamic art, on the one hand, Chinese and Japanese art, on the other. It is the largest Oriental collection housed by a Romanian museum, and it consists of items from the royal collection, the Toma Stelian Museum, as well as gifts and acquisitions. The Department of Oriental Art currently holds over 5,000 objects. The holdings of three other departments of the Museum, namely the Department of Medieval Romanian Art, that of Decorative Art, as well as the Art Collections Museum (which is part of the National Museum of Art of Romania) include notable Islamic artworks, some of which have been selected for this site.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition was closed for a much-needed ample renovation of the building, and will be redisplayed in newly refurbished areas in compliance with European standards of conservation. Meanwhile, exhibitions of Oriental art are being shown regularly. About four hundred carpets covering a wide geographical area and spanning four centuries are at the core of the collection of Islamic art. Even though less extensive, the collections of ceramics, embroideries, and metalwork boast some outstanding works, providing a meaningful insight into distinct areas of Islamic art.  \n  \nAlongside the Art Collections Museum, which holds a considerable number of Islamic artefacts donated over the years by Romanian art collectors, the National Museum of Art of Romania manages two other museums in Bucharest: K. H. Zambaccian Museum and Theodor Pallady Museum.","city":"Bucharest","address":"Calea Victoriei 49-53  \nsector 1  \n010063 Bucureşti","website":"https://www.mnar.arts.ro/en/","phone":"+40 21 313 30 30","fax":"+40 21 312 43 27","email":"secretariat@art.museum.ro"},"5db20458-bdcf-5050-98fb-3fb2d1392a0a":{"name":"Museum for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Antiquities","description":"When it was founded in 1954, the Museum for Mediterranean and Near East Antiquities comprised collections of Egyptian, Greek, Roman and Cypriote antiquities. As a department of the National History Museum, the museum was primarily of an archaeological nature aimed at showing the origins of western civilization. However, in 1982, a large part of the Swedish collections of Islamic art were added to it, in response to increasing understanding of the Mediterranean countries as a region of close relations and interactions over the centuries. With its incorporation, in 1999, in the National Museum of World Culture, an organization consisting of the four Swedish state museums with foreign collections, the focus changed to the diversity of culture within the region of the Mediterranean and in relation to the rest of the world.  \n  \nThe Islamic collection of the museum consists of ceramics, metal works, textiles and miniatures, mostly from Iran and Turkey. It also includes well-known collections such as the so-called Hannibal collection of glass fragments. Although Sweden does not border any Islamic lands, there are many cultural objects in archives, libraries and other museums testifying to its diplomatic and commercial relations with Islamic countries. Examples from these institutions were selected to characterize the development of the Islamic collections in Sweden.  \n  \nThe Islamic collection is displayed in two rooms accessible from the main hall. As an introduction, the Muslim way of life is depicted by objects from a religious context. The exhibition itself displays artefacts from different regions and periods and of various materials according to aesthetic traditions. Located near finds from other Mediterranean cultures the exhibition encourages visitors to understand relationships, traditions and influences.","city":"Stockholm","address":"Fredsgatan 2  \nBox 16008  \n10321 Stockholm, Sweden","website":"http://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/medelhavsmuseet/","phone":"+46 010 456 12 00","email":"info@medelhavsmuseet.se"},"6001ff30-e9b6-573e-a38c-5ac23b472e6c":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","fax":"+1 314.721.6172","email":"info@slam.org"},"60b02d9b-3b33-59db-9e40-8f5e785c3d52":{"name":"Al-Saraya Museum","description":"The Museum is housed in what was originally a two-storey Ottoman building dated to 1883, which was constructed to accommodate officials.  \n  \nThe building underwent several modifications after the late Ottoman period. In its present state it has seven barrel-vaults and ten rooms organised around a courtyard. In 2006 it was converted into an archaeological museum displaying artefacts discovered during excavations which took place mainly in the governorate of Irbid, north Jordan.  \n  \nThe museum holds objects from the Stone Age through to the Ottoman period in chronological order. These objects are pottery, alabaster, glass vessels and sculptures in addition to Byzantine mosaic floors.","city":"Irbid","address":"P.O.Box 62  \nIrbid, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 7245613","fax":"+962 2 7240406","email":"+962 79 5382023 (mobile director)"},"646d2ec3-07ab-58ec-88a5-80936d9d1b9a":{"name":"Ankara Ethnography Museum","description":"The Ethnography Museum is located on a hill donated by the General Directorate of Foundations to the Ministry of National Education. The architect Arif Hikmet (Koyunoğlu) is one of the most renowned architects of the early Republican period. The building has a rectangular plan with a single dome. The stone walls are faced with coarse sandstone, and the marble pediment has carved decoration.  \n  \nA special commission to collect and purchase artefacts was established in Istanbul, headed by Prof. Celal Esad (Arseven) in 1924 and then by Halil Ethem (Eldem), Director of Istanbul Museums, in 1925. 1,250 purchased artefacts were placed in the museum whose construction was completed in 1927. Hamit Zübeyr Koşay was appointed as the director. The equestrian bronze statue of Atatürk that stands in front of the Museum was made by the Italian sculptor B. Conanica at the request of the Ministry of National Education in 1927.  \n  \nOn 15 April 1928, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha (Atatürk) visited the museum and on his request the museum was opened to public on 18 July 1930 on the occasion of the visit of Afghan King Amanullah Han. In November 1938 the inner courtyard was reserved as a temporary mausoleum for Atatürk until his body was transferred to his own mausoleum, the Anıtkabir, in 1953. This section is stil kept as a symbolic cenotaph in Atatürk’s memory. Between 1953 and 1956, renovations were carried out for the International Museums Week in 1956 when the museum was reopened to the public.  \n  \nThe Ethnography Museum houses examples of Turkish art dating from the Seljuq period to modern times.  \n  \nTo the right of the entrance are halls displaying items related to the Anatolian wedding ceremony and bridal dresses, Turkish embroidery, Turkish carpets, Anatolian coffee culture and the circumcision ceremony.  \n  \nTo the left of the entrance are halls housing tile and glass artefacts, objects donated by Besim Atalay, Ottoman calligraphy and some of the finest wooden artefacts from the Seljuq and Emirate periods.","city":"Ankara","address":"Talatpaşa Bulvarı, Ülkü Sokak, 4  \n(Eski Türk Ocağı yanı) Opera  \nAnkara, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gov.tr/muze-detay?SectionId=AET01&DistId=MRK","phone":"+90 312 311 30 07","fax":"+90 312 311 95 56","email":"ankaraetnografyamuze@kultur.gov.tr"},"6502b77d-6a33-5675-bcdf-5e8765f63fbd":{"name":"Museum of the Arab World Institute","description":"The 'institut du monde arabe' (Museum of the Arab world) in Paris houses a museum, labeled as a \"Musée de France,\" dedicated to the discovery and promotion of Arab culture. Located in the heart of the French capital, it holds a rich and diverse collection of artworks, historical objects, and cultural artifacts representing the various facets of the Arab world beyond stereotypes, showcasing its full diversity of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and faiths, from its origins to the present day. The museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions explore various themes covering a historical range from ancient Mediterranean civilizations to contemporary times, thanks to a rich collection of Islamic art and ethnographic objects as well as a collection of modern and contemporary artworks. The remarkable architecture of the building, designed by Jean Nouvel, blends tradition and modernity, offering visitors an immersive and captivating experience. The museum also offers educational activities, lectures, film screenings, and special events throughout the year, aiming to raise awareness about the richness and diversity of Arab culture. With its commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, the Institut du monde arabe's museum is a must-visit destination for art enthusiasts and curious individuals eager to explore the treasures of Arab heritage.","city":"Paris","address":"1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard  \nPlace Mohammed V  \n75 236 Paris Cédex 5","website":"https://www.imarabe.org/fr","phone":"+33 (0)1 40 51 38 38"},"6a05cd70-3f9b-5480-8f66-c26e05087784":{"name":"Museums' System of the Province of Bologna","description":"A museums’ network created by Provincia di Bologna, offering a virtual tour through over 100 museums within Bologna and the surrounding area from the Po Valley, and the verdant hills up to the Apennine Mountains. Many different collections have been gathered into one virtual museum, inviting visitors to discover a rich heritage along five thematic paths (Archaeology, Arts, History, Sciences and Identity), and four geographic routes (Bologna, Imola and its surrounds, the Plains, and the Apennine Mountains).  \n  \nOn the agenda, a rich menu to suit all tastes: an intriguing starter is offered by the Etruscan and Roman heritage, set against the vestiges of our prehistoric ancestors. The arts follow, including those of the Middle Ages, illuminated manuscripts; the genius of Vitale da Bologna and the world-renowned Bolognese painters, the Carracci to Giorgio Morandi; the tradition of excellence in music honoured by Mozart, Farinelli and Rossini. Then there is a focus on History with Bologna’s most ancient University and its undisputed supremacy in scientific investigation, encompassing Ulisse Aldrovandi’s herbarium as well as Galvani’s and Marconi’s experiments. Take in the captivating stories of Risorgimento (“Resurgence”) after almost four centuries of magnificent papal authority; the grand events of World War Two, for example the Autumn Campaign of 1944; the subsequent suffering of the people, the struggles and resistance. Last but not least, from those museums dedicated to rural and industrial archaeology, the identity and character of people as rooted in agriculture and handicrafts and the technological innovations of more recent times.","city":"Bologna","address":"Via de’ Castagnoli, 3  \n40126 Bologna  \nItaly","website":"http://www.cittametropolitana.bo.it/cultura/Engine/RAServePG.php/P/267811390414/T/Guida-Musei","phone":"+39 051 6598470","fax":"+39 051 6598884","email":"sistemamusei@provincia.bologna.it"},"6b099291-fe17-5f8d-bf0e-cc38d8747876":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the architectural capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","fax":"+34 91 432 68 40","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"6da08597-8da7-5d02-a911-09a5273c1265":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Museum of National Antiquities (Historiska Museet)**  \nBox 5428  \nNarvavägen 13–17  \n114 84 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 51955600  \n[www.historiska.se](http://www.historiska.se)  \n  \n**Museum of Ethnography (Etnografiska museet)**  \nDjurgårdsbrunnsvägen 34,  \nBox 27140,  \n102 52 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 010 4561299  \n[www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/etnografiskamuseet/](http://www.varldskulturmuseerna.se/etnografiskamuseet/)  \n  \n**National Museum of Fine Arts (Nationalmuseum)**  \nBox 16176  \n103 24 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Södra Blasieholmshamnen  \nTel.: +46 8 51954300  \n[www.nationalmuseum.se](http://www.nationalmuseum.se)  \n  \n**Royal Coin Cabinet (Kungl. Myntkabinettet)**  \nSlottsbacken 6,  \nBox 5428  \n114 84 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 51955300  \n[www.myntkabinettet.se](http://www.myntkabinettet.se)  \n  \n**Royal Armoury (Livrustkammaren)**  \nSlottsbacken 3,  \n111 30 Stockholm  \nTel: +46 8 4023000  \n[www.lrk.lsh.se](http://www.lrk.lsh.se)  \n  \n**National Maritime Museum (Sjöhistoriska museet)**  \nBox 27131  \n102 52 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Djurgårdsbrunnsvägen 24  \nTel.: +46 8 51954900  \n[www.sjohistoriska.se](http://www.sjohistoriska.se)  \n  \n**Army Museum (Armémuseum)**  \nBox 14095,  \n104 41 Stockholm  \nAddress for visitors: Riddargatan 13  \nTel.: +46 8 51956310  \n[www.sfhm.se](http://www.sfhm.se)  \n  \n**Swedish National Archives (Riksarkivet)**  \nFyrverkarbacken 13,  \nBox 12541,  \n102 29 Stockholm  \nTel: +46 010 4767000  \n[www.riksarkivet.se](http://www.riksarkivet.se)  \n  \n**Hallwyl Museum (Hallwylska Museet)**  \nHamngatan 4,  \n111 47 Stockholm  \nTel.: +46 8 4023099  \n[http://www.hallwylskamuseet.se](http://www.hallwylskamuseet.se)  \n  \n**Museum of Cultural History**  \nBox 1095  \n221 04 Lund  \nAddress for visitors:  \nTegnérsplatsen  \n223 50 Lund  \nTel.: +46 046 350400  \n[www.kulturen.com](http://www.kulturen.com)  \n  \n**Uppsala University Library**  \nBox 510,  \n751 20 Uppsala  \nAddress for visitors: Carolina Rediviva, Dag Hammarskjölds väg 1  \nTel.: +46 18 4713900  \n[www.ub.uu.se](http://www.ub.uu.se)"},"70de1706-9586-5047-bb4b-f1cf7fb14120":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Tavira Municipal Museum**  \nTavira, Faro, Portugal  \n  \n**National Museum of Ancient Art**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Moura Municipal Museum**  \nMoura, Beja, Portugal  \n  \n**Santarém Municipal Museum**  \nSantarém, Portugal  \n  \n**Lisbon Cathedral**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Carmo Museum of Archaeology**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**City Museum**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Cathedral of Braga Treasury**  \nBraga, Portugal  \n  \n**Infante D. Henrique Archaeological and Lapidary Museum**  \nFaro, Portugal  \n  \n**Évora Museum**  \nÉvora, Portugal  \n  \n**National Museum of Archaeology**  \nLisbon, Portugal  \n  \n**Queen Leonor Regional Museum**  \nBeja, Portugal  \n  \n**Machado de Castro National Museum**  \nCoimbra, Portugal"},"71396e5b-ca3a-5c08-b428-1959e047ae57":{"name":"Jordan Folklore Museum","description":"The museum is located in the western section of Amman’s Roman theatre. Founded by the Department of Antiquities, it opened in 1975. The museum exhibits items of daily life in the cities and villages and of the Badu (Bedouin) groups who lived on the West and East Bank during the 19th and first half of the 20th century. Musical instruments, vessels and tools for domestic activities and craftsmanship illustrate traditional daily life and economic activities of the time. Tents, domestic furniture and items to prepare coffee illustrate the way of life, work and the rules of hospitality among Bedouin men and women. As well as the traditional products of the local society and economy, imported weapons and objects testify to how local communities came into contact with the inventions and commercial products that were changing the world in the 19th and early 20th century.","city":"Amman","address":"Quraysh Street  \nAmman","website":"goo.gl/DNPGbL"},"71715b75-3521-53ee-8c85-91fca0b977d0":{"name":"National Museums Scotland","description":"The collections of what is now National Museums Scotland were built over more than two centuries, with two strands of history coming together in the story of the organisation’s development. First the desire to have a museum reflecting Scottish history and second the wish to have a museum demonstrating international cultures, natural and physical sciences, and decorative art for Scotland.  \n  \nThe Society of Antiquaries of Scotland was founded in 1780, very much in the spirit of the Enlightenment, to collect the archaeology of Scotland. Its collections passed into public ownership in 1851 as the original collections of the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland. In 1985 the National Museum of Antiquities was amalgamated with the Royal Scottish Museum. The latter was founded in 1854 as the Industrial Museum of Scotland and reflected the impetus of Victorian ideals of education. It started international collecting and research as well as forming close links to the collections and teaching of Edinburgh University, which continue today. Renamed the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art, it opened in its first bespoke buildings, designed by Francis Fowke, on Chambers Street in 1866. The 1985 amalgamation created the largest multi-disciplinary museum in Scotland, with 12 million items in its collections and the largest body of curatorial and conservation expertise in the country. Today, National Museums Scotland includes the National Museum of Scotland, the National War Museum, and the National Museums Collections Centre - a research, storage, and conservation facility in Edinburgh, as well as the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, and the National Museum of Rural Life in Lanarkshire.  \n  \nNational Museums Scotland started acquiring material culture from West Asia and North Africa in 1854. Today, material from West Asia comprises more than 4,000 items from a geographical area that spans from Turkey to Central Asia to Yemen, alongside over 500 objects in our collections from North African countries. Dating from the 7th to the 21st centuries, they give an insight into the past and the present of the people living in these regions, particularly through representations of their different crafts, and the skills and social values associated with them. The museum’s collections reflect British and Scottish collectors’ interests in the Islamic world and embody entangled colonial histories and interrelations.","city":"Edinburgh","address":"Chambers Street,  \nEdinburgh EH1 1JF","website":"http://www.nms.ac.uk","phone":"+ 44 (0)300 123 6789","email":"info@nms.ac.uk"},"75fbd82a-86c2-5a79-a047-243f70baa4ed":{"name":"Pera Museum","description":"Inaugurated in 2005, Pera Museum is a private museum founded by the Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation. The aim of offering a range of diverse high-quality cultural and art services is as important today as when it first opened to the public.  \n  \nSince its inauguration, Pera Museum has collaborated annually with national and international institutions of art and education to hold exhibitions that support young artists. All the exhibitions are accompanied by books, catalogues, audio-visual events and education programmes. Parallel to its seasonal programmes and events, Pera Film offers visitors and film buffs a wide range of screenings that extend from classics and independent films to animated films and documentaries. Pera Film also hosts special shows directly linked to the themes of the temporary exhibitions.","city":"Istanbul","address":"Meşrutiyet Cad, 65  \n34443 Tepebaşi, Beyoğlu, Istanbul  \nTurkey","website":"www.peramuzesi.org.tr","phone":"+90 212 334 99 00","fax":"+90 212 245 95 11","email":"info@peramuzesi.org.tr"},"7712e497-33e4-5529-91c3-47abff00f87c":{"name":"National Archaeological Museum","description":"The National Archaeological Museum (Museo Arqueológico Nacional or MAN) is Spain’s most important museum of history. It preserves, researches and presents its collections of archaeology, art and history to the public. In doing so, the museum aspires to offer all visitors an accurate, attractive, interesting and critical interpretation of the meaning of objects from the past, in the hopes that a deeper knowledge of history will help them to better analyse and understand the reality of today. Given the relevance and scope of its collections, the National Archaeological Museum is comparable in its specialty to prominent Spanish museums (Prado, Thyssen, Reina Sofía or the Royal Collections Gallery), by showing our country’s diversity and affluence in terms of cultural history.  \n  \nThe museum occupies a monumental building in the heart of the Salamanca quarter, one of Madrid’s busiest shopping and leisure districts, and is strategically positioned along the Recoletos-Prado artery, which boasts the highest concentration of art and culture institutions in the city. The museum’s magnificent building in the heart of Madrid offers a historical infrastructure — complete with building, garden and fence —which is fully renovated and accessible.  \n  \nThe MAN has grown and evolved constantly since it was created in 1867, almost 160 years ago, and is still changing today to meet the needs of the 21st century. After a complete overhaul between 2008 and 2014, the institution reopened in April 2014 with a brand-new look and layout, claiming its place among Europe’s most modern museums. The renovated building is divided into six floors and has a total surface area of nearly 30,000 m2, of which 18,304 m2 are reserved for public use (the permanent exhibition alone occupies 9,239 m2). The museum has also been fitted out with different service areas, including a spacious vestibule, café, shop and activity rooms.  \n  \nThe MAN’s extraordinary collection, which includes a large number of priceless historical and cultural artefacts, comprises over one million archaeological, historical and artistic objects.  \n  \nIts holdings are vast and varied: Palaeolithic bifaces, practically the only tool in existence for millennia; delicate ivory carvings that combine aesthetic appeal with practical functionality; prehistoric engravings found in the Cave of El Castillo, evidence of humanity’s earliest artistic and symbolic expressions; the abstract aesthetics of the “Idol of Extremadura”; the classical, timeless beauty of the Lady of Elche; ancient Roman sculptures; the extraordinary treasure of Guarrazar; the Romanesque crucifix of Ferdinand and Sancha; the lovely equestrian figure of Hector by Il Filarete; and the ornamental paintings of Luis Paret on a Baroque armchair are just some of the treasures it houses.  \n  \nThe Museum's Islamic Art collection largely comes from the different historical periods of Al-Andalus, the name that the Muslims gave to the territory they conquered in the Iberian Peninsula. The aesthetic quality achieved by Andalusian art is demonstrated in the capitals, arches, marble panels and alabaster and plaster decorations of the period, especially from the Caliphate of Córdoba. Added to this is the museum's collection of decorative and highly refined objects made in the Andalusian palace workshops, such as metal, ivory and glazed ceramics. Likewise, a large collection of objects is preserved that show the symbiosis of Hispano-Islamic and Christian forms in the Iberian Peninsula, as the dome of the Torrijos Palace.","city":"Madrid","address":"Serrano, 13  \n28001  \nMadrid, Spain","website":"http://www.man.es/","phone":"+34 91 577 79 12","fax":"+34 91 432 68 40","email":"secretaria.man@mecd.es"},"7df32468-b6ba-51bb-bf7d-829daebb9ef6":{"name":"Mohammed VI Museum for the Civilisation of Water in Morocco","description":"The Mohammed VI Museum of Water Civilisation in Morocco is a historical, scientific, cultural, educational, and recreational space unique to Morocco and Africa. It is the result of the commitment by the Ministry of Habous and Islamic Affairs to preserve Morocco’s hydraulic heritage.  \n  \nThe museum was established in recognition of Moroccan ingenuity in water management through tools and techniques historically adapted to the country’s ecosystems and geomorphology. It serves as a tribute to the dam policy and water laws introduced by the late King Hassan II. It acknowledges the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI in developing modern water infrastructure, which led to the National Water Strategy for 2030 and the National Water Plan for 2020–2050.  \n  \nThis museum is the first building specifically designed to showcase the history of water management in Morocco. Its inauguration was honoured by Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan on 5 January 2017, and it opened to the public in May of that year. In June 2019, the Crown Prince was elected to the steering committee of Wamu-Net, a global network of water museums affiliated with UNESCO’s International Hydrological Programme (UNESCO-IHP). In 2021, he was promoted to the position of vice president.  \n  \nBeyond its primary mission of raising awareness about the importance of water resources, and urging short- and long-term behavioural changes in water usage, the museum encourages visitors to appreciate Moroccan water engineering through the centuries.  \nAs a bridge between past and present, the Mohammed VI Museum for the Civilisation of Water in Morocco invites people to experience the history, heritage, and rich hydraulic culture of Morocco, and to share that heritage through accessible scientific and cultural programs intended for a wide audience.  \n  \nThe museum covers 20,000 square metres. It includes permanent exhibition space; rooms for education, events, and meetings; a cafeteria, gift shop, and offices. Its ideal location at the entrance to the *Palmeraie* (Palm Grove) enhances the social and cultural life of Marrakech.","city":"Marrakech","address":"Entrance of the palm grove circuit Abdelkrim El Khattabi Avenue Road to Casablanca- Marrakech 40000.","website":"www.museeaman.ma","fax":"+212524291592","email":"museemohammedvi.aman@gmail.com"},"85fff507-bb71-531b-85a8-f2b6d6324d8e":{"name":"Shangri La, Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art","description":"Built in Honolulu, Hawai'i from 1936–1938, Shangri La overlooks the Pacific Ocean and Diamond Head and houses Doris Duke’s (1912–1993) collection of Islamic art. Of the many homes that Duke inhabited, Shangri La is the only one that she built from the ground up and filled from the inside out.  \n  \nThe five-acre complex integrates a 14,000-square-foot house, a Playhouse, and a pool, comprising a series of interlocking spaces, both indoors and out: rooms, courtyards, lanais, terraces, gardens, and numerous water features. While design and early construction were underway, Duke traveled extensively in the Middle East, visiting historical monuments and providing the architect with photographs of architectural decoration to be incorporated into Shangri La's design. She also placed large commissions with contemporary artisans in India, Morocco, Iran, and Syria to create art and architectural elements, utilizing traditional forms, patterns, and means of fabrication.  \n  \nFor nearly 60 years, Doris Duke continued to collect Islamic art, ultimately forming a collection of about 2,500 objects, many of which are embedded into the structure of the house. Iranian ceramic tile panels, carved and painted ceilings from Morocco, jali (perforated screen) doors and windows, and textiles and carpets create a living environment of Islamic art and architectural decoration.  \n  \nThe later centuries of production (c. 1600–1940) are better represented, and ceramics, metalwork, wood, glass and textiles are favored over the arts of the book and works on paper. The collection ranges from items of the finest artistic quality, including medieval Persian tilework and painted interiors from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Damascus, to ethnographic objects such as leather saddles and a bedouin-style tent, reflecting Duke's broad and inclusive sense of aesthetics.  \n  \nToday, Shangri La is nationally recognized for its high artistic value and as one of Hawai'i's most architecturally significant homes. It is open to the public for guided tours and educational programs such as lectures, performances and occasional symposia. Shangri La also supports residencies for contemporary artists and for scholars researching Islamic art.","city":"Honolulu","address":"4055 Papu Circle  \nHonolulu, HI 96816","website":"http://www.shangrilahawaii.org/","phone":"(808) 734-1941","fax":"(808) 732-4361","email":"shangrilahawaii@ddcf.org"},"89f613d2-8723-5be8-8e46-487f9dae46f4":{"name":"Swiss National Museum","description":"Three museums – the National Museum Zurich, the Château de Prangins and the Forum of Swiss History Schwyz – as well as the collections centre in Affoltern am Albis – are united under the umbrella of the Swiss National Museum (SNM). The permanent exhibitions at the museums present Swiss history from its beginnings to the present, and give an insight into Swiss identities and the rich tapestry of our country’s history and culture. Temporary exhibitions on current topics add to the experience.","city":"Zurich","address":"Swiss National Museum  \nMuseumstrasse, 2  \nP.O. Box 8021  \nZurich  \nSwitzerland","website":"http://www.nationalmuseum.ch","phone":"+41 44 218 65 11","fax":"+41 44 211 29 49","email":"info@nationalmuseum.ch"},"8a41ae85-1217-5a1f-a8f2-68da1d74234d":{"name":"National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art","description":"The National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art is the oldest museum in Algeria and Africa. The collection was set up in 1835, five years after the French occupation, by the then Governor General Marshal Clauzel who appointed Adrien Berbrugger as its first curator. From 1838 onward, the early museum hosted pieces, of Algerian provenance, from Antiquity up until the Ottoman periods. Between 1838 and 1896, this early museum occupied different places of the lower Casbah, before settling in a beautiful park located on the heights of Mustapha Pasha - now known as the Park of Liberty - where it was officially inaugurated in 1897.  \n  \nSince then these two divisions of the museum’s collection, Antiquity and Islamic, have continued to grow. This collection makes it possible to exhibit the history of Algeria from its Libyan-Punic era through to the 20th century. The objects are displayed in two separate buildings: one houses the pre-Islamic collection whilst the other houses the collection of Islamic art, which was inaugurated in May 2003.  \n  \nThe ancient collection is very rich and includes collections of mosaics, sculptures, Libyan and Latin inscriptions, coins and medals, bronze, ivory, bone, ceramics and wooden objects.  \n  \nThe Islamic section was formed from the first collection of 1854, which included Algerian and Oriental objects. It has gradually been enriched by pieces uncovered through archaeological excavations carried throughout the country. This wide-ranging collection includes sculpted plasterboard from 10th century Sedrata, marble or plaster sculptures of the 11th century Qal'a of Beni Hammad as well as the chairs of the 11th century Almoravid mosques in Algiers and the 12th century mosque of Nedroma.  \n  \nThe furniture arts of North Africa is also widely represented in this museum. Shop windows contain Ottoman-era embroidery, clothing, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, chiselled brass and worked repoussé that comes from the urban centres as well as rural areas. Manuscripts and miniatures complete the collection.  \n  \nThe museum’s numismatic collection is exhibited in a reading room that was inaugurated in May 2006.","city":"Algiers","address":"177, bd Krim-Belkacem, Parc de la Liberté  \nAlgiers, Algeria","website":"https://m-culture.gov.dz/index.php/fr/mus%C3%A9es","phone":"+213 0 21 68 11 29","fax":"+213 0 21 68 12 56","email":"museemna@musee-antiquites.art.dz"},"8ea7243d-fe8e-5011-a9ca-75ebd26660ac":{"name":"Ministry of Culture, Directorate for Cultural Heritage","description":"The Directorate of Cultural Heritage is part of the Ministry of Culture. Its mission is to ensure the protection, conservation, restoration, maintenance and promotion of the architectural, archaeological and ethnographic heritage. It is also in charge of the country’s museums and its various artistic treasures.","city":"Rabat","address":"Avenue Michlifen, 17  \nAgdal, Rabat  \nMorocco","website":"www.minculture.gov.ma","phone":"+212 537 274 001 / 03","fax":"+212 537 274 002"},"95483cda-d367-5af3-ad0e-2779b97409cb":{"name":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah","description":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI) is a cultural organisation based on a Kuwaiti private art collection owned by Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, founder of The al-Sabah Collection and his wife, DAI director general and co-founder Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah.  \n  \nEstablished in 1983, DAI was created to manage The al-Sabah Collection, an esteemed collection of Islamic art on permanent loan to the State of Kuwait under the auspices of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. The collection preserves and presents all aspects of Islamic art and includes more than 20,000 pieces extending from Spain to China, from the 1st – 13th centuries AH/7th – 19th centuries AD.  \n  \nSince its inception, DAI has grown from a single focus organisation to an internationally recognised cultural organisation. DAI’s main activities include:  \n  \n• An annual Cultural Season (lectures, music concerts, forum, workshops, children’s programme, quarterly magazine/journal, quarterly newsletter, cultural expeditions)  \n• Travelling exhibitions and loans  \n• Conservation training programmes  \n• Research and excavation projects  \n  \nWith a highly specialised library, DAI is also involved in the publication of scholarly books on Islamic art and culture.  \n  \nWhile the rehabilitation project of DAI’s buildings at the Kuwait National Museum is underway, the Amricani Cultural Centre is the temporary home of DAI. The Amricani Cultural Centre is the ground for most of the organization’s activities and events, including local temporary exhibitions and DAI’s cultural season events.","city":"Kuwait City","address":"Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah  \nAmricani Cultural Centre  \nP.O. BOX: 23996 Safat 13100 Kuwait","website":"https://daralatharalislamiyyah.com/en/home-page-en/","phone":"+965 2240 0992","fax":"+965 2246 7770","email":"info@darmuseumkw.org"},"9700601a-3046-5e0d-b809-55a161c9b564":{"name":"Museum of Applied Art","description":"The Museum of Applied Art was founded in 1950 as a specialised art museum with an initial collection of some 3,000 art pieces, collected by a painter Ljuba Ivanović. During the years the collection has been enriched by acquisitions, both by purchases and donations. Nowadays, the Museum holds more than 37,000 objects of applied art including pieces of great cultural and artistic value.  \n  \nThe oldest items in the Museum’s collections date from 4th century BC, and belong to the coin collection (coins from ancient Greece) of Metalwork and Jewellery Department, while the collections in Contemporary Applied Art Department contain objects of the most recent artistic production. The Museum also has Wood and Period Furniture Department, Textile and Costume Department, Photography and Print Room Department, Ceramics, Porcelain and Glass Department and Architecture Department.  \n  \nThe Museum has a dynamic exhibition programme, organising exhibitions within the Salon of Contemporary Applied Art, annual thematic study exhibitions as well as hosting domestic and foreign exhibitions. The permanent exhibition At the First Sight presents various items from the Museum’s historical collections.","city":"Belgrade","address":"Vuka Karadžića, 18  \n11000 Belgrade","website":"www.mpu.rs","phone":"+381 11 2626 494","fax":"+381 11 2629 121","email":"info@mpu.rs"},"a05b0a22-d90a-5e08-85e3-53fd66868e26":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is a pioneering project spotlighting the cultural vision of the State of Qatar, both in the region and across the world. Under the guiding vision of His Excellency, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the project is the cornerstone for the State of Qatar in its establishment as a global capital of culture.  \n  \nThe 35,500 sq. m museum was designed by I.M. Pei, taking inspiration from the 13th-century *sabil* (ablutions fountain) of the 9th-century Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in Cairo. The museum comprises a five-level main building and a two-storey Education Wing, connected across a fountain courtyard. The main building’s angular planes form ascending pinnacles, rising around an atrium. Inside, a dome is revealed, concealed from outside view by the walls of a central tower. A window on the building’s north side rises to a height of 54 m., providing dramatic views from all five floors. The ground floor is home to a temporary gallery space for touring international exhibitions and the café, giftshop and Information Services. The museum’s permanent exhibition is installed on two floors of galleries designed by the French firm Jean-Michel Wilmotte & Associés. The fourth floor contains temporary galleries showcasing the research topics of museum staff, using items either not seen in the permanent galleries or with new information to see them in a new way.  \n  \n**Overview of the collections**  \nThe MIA houses artefacts highlighting the creative achievements of the Islamic world's richest cultures and spanning nearly a thousand years. The collection represents the full scope of Islamic art in all media, from manuscripts to ceramics, metalwork, glass, stone, ivory, textiles, wood, precious stones and jewellery.  \n  \nThe permanent exhibition of *c.* 850 artefacts offers an insight into the diverse art of the Islamic world. Two floors are dedicated to the exploration of historical eras and interpretation of the themes of Islamic art and material culture, from the 8th century to the cusp of the 19th century.  \n  \nThe MIA also holds thousands more objects, some destined to be seen in future displays and others providing a resource for education and research.  \n  \nHighlights of the collection include: a distinguished group of carpets and textiles, a range of Ayyubid and Mamluk metalwork and enamelled glass, an outstanding strength in early ceramics, a comprehensive collection of astrolabes and scientific instruments, masterpieces of Mughal jewellery and rare manuscripts and miniatures.  \n  \n**The Department of Education and Information**  \nThe department’s main goal is to create materials, programmes and workshops that will engage the public, allowing them to explore the world through Islamic art, promoting a culture of learning within an atmosphere of knowledge and entertainment.  \n  \n**The Curatorial Department**  \nThe department of internationally trained curators is committed to studying, documenting and publicising the MIA’s collection and establishing the MIA as a world-class centre of scholarly research.  \n  \n**The Conservation Department**  \nSet to become a leading regional service centre for museums, the department is committed to restoring, preserving and caring for the collection through the application of innovative scientific methods.  \n  \n**International partnerships**  \nThe MIA is committed to building a network of partnerships around the world and offering institutes and museums collective access to information, research and images. It has strong ties with many world-class museums and collections, including the Louvre, France, the British Museum, UK, the Victoria & Albert Museum, UK, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, USA, the Museum für Islamische Kunst, Germany, the Al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait, the Gulbenkian, Portugal, and the National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art, Algeria.","city":"Doha","address":"Museum of Islamic Art roundabout, the Corniche  \nPostal Address: P.O. Box 2777  \nDoha, Qatar","website":"http://mia.org.qa/","phone":"+974 4422 4444","fax":"+974 4422 4447","email":"infomia@qma.org.qa; educationmia@qma.org.qa; librarymia@qma.org.qa"},"a34751d0-27ea-55db-a4ca-a2403fb9243e":{"name":"Moravian Museum","description":"The Moravian Museum, the second largest and oldest museum in the Czech Republic, was founded in July 1817 by a decree of Emperor Francis I. The museum’s collections include over six million objects, representing valuable scientific material from the fields of literature, music and theatre; geology, mineralogy, botany, zoology and entomology. In addition to documenting scientific history, the museum organises a programme of temporary exhibitions, lectures and other activities, and also features a Children's Museum dedicated to the education and leisure of younger museum visitors.  \n  \nThe Moravian Museum is a contributory organisation of the Ministry of culture of the Czech Republic. A research oriented institution, its main task is to carry out basic and applied research, to disseminate its results by means of teaching, publications or technology transfer, within the framework of the museum’s activities.","city":"Brno","address":"Zelný trh 6,  \n659 37 Brno","website":"http://www.mzm.cz","phone":"+420 533 435 220","email":"mzm@mzm.cz"},"a61ee6e4-a22c-5b69-9e0b-e4320040e5f4":{"name":"Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts","description":"The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was the first museum in Turkey to bring together works of Islamic art. It was founded in 1914 as the Museum of Islamic Foundations and housed in the Imaret building of the Süleymaniye Complex, built by the great Turkish architect Sinan in the 16th century. The museum was renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts after the declaration of the republic and moved to its present location in the 16th-century Ibrahim Paşa Palace in 1983.  \n  \nThe core collection of the museum comprises Islamic artworks collected from across the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. These works include carpets, manuscripts, metalwork, glassware, ceramics, woodwork and ethnographic materials. The collection represents an extensive period ranging from the rise of Islam to the 20th century and the vast geographical area ruled by the Ottoman Empire.  \n  \nThe carpets, numbering some 1,700, in their quality and variety constitute one of the most important collections of carpets in the world, so that the museum is sometimes thought of as a carpet museum. But the museum also has other outstanding collections: the manuscripts collection represents all the ruling Islamic states from the AH 1st / AD 7th century to the 20th century across a wide geographical area. The metalwork collection allows visitors to follow the development of Turkish metalwork in Anatolia and the rich collection of woodwork ranges from the AH 3rd / AD 9th century to the Ottoman period. The glassware and pottery collections include artefacts recovered during excavations at renowned Abbasid centres such as Samarra and Keshan (Iran) and Raqqa (Syria) as well as artefacts from the Anatolian Turkish period. The stonework, most bearing inscriptions, includes examples from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Mamluk, Seljuq and Ottoman periods. The ethnographic department is the newest section.  \n  \nThe museum also organises, hosts and participates in temporary national and international exhibitions.  \n  \nAfter the grand restoration works The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts re-opened in April 2014, exactly 100 years after its foundation, with special exhibitions to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.","city":"İstanbul","address":"İbrahim Paşa Sarayı Atmeydanı Sok. No: 46  \nSultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/tiem","phone":"+90 212 518 18 05 / 06","fax":"+90 212 518 18 07","email":"tiem@tiem.gov.tr"},"af01a84d-b174-5718-b9a7-b741c8957086":{"name":"The British Museum","description":"The British Museum was established by Act of Parliament in 1753, the first national public museum in the world. From the beginning it granted free admission to all “studious and curious persons”. The founding collection was that of Sir Hans Sloane, a wealthy physician and collector. The original British Museum comprised three departments: Printed Books; Manuscripts (including coins); and Natural and Artificial Productions, which included everything from sculpture to mineral samples and zoological specimens. In January 1759 the British Museum opened its doors to the public.  \n  \nAs a product of the Enlightenment, the museum's job was to be a storehouse of knowledge for the use and benefit of the public, advancing all fields of scholarship. The museum therefore aimed to collect all kinds of material; it remains one of the few places in the world in which it is possible to see the world under one roof. During the 19th century the museum acquired representative collections of Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Assyrian antiquities, as well as material from across the Islamic world.  \n  \nThe museum itself had to grow to offer space to display the growing collections. Between 1823 and 1847 the original building was replaced by four large wings built around a central courtyard. In 1854 construction began on the iconic Round Reading Room in the central courtyard. The natural history collections were given their own home in the new Museum of Natural History in 1881. By 1973 the British Library and British Museum were administratively separated, and in 1999 the new British Library building opened at St Pancras. The British Museum site was expanded and modernised. In 2000 the Great Court opened, envisioned as a sunny piazza at the centre of the building, with up-to-date facilities such as lecture theatres, an education centre and facilities for school children, as well as restaurants and shops. In 2014 the World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre opened to the public, offering state-of-the-art facilities to care for, manage, research and display the collections.","city":"London","address":"Great Russell St.,  \nLondon WC1B 3DG  \nUnited Kingdom","website":"http://www.britishmuseum.org","phone":"+44 20 7323 8000 / 8299","fax":"+44 20 7323 8616","email":"information@britishmuseum.org"},"afcd0644-a551-5a70-bc94-53544c095587":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","fax":"+1 314.721.6172","email":"info@slam.org"},"afffcb31-4567-5a53-ab82-c5452bdcf51e":{"name":"Karatay Madrasa Tilework Museum","description":"Karatay Madrasa was built in 1251 (649, H.) by Emir Celaleddin Karatay during the period of II. İzzettin Keykavus. Its architect is unknown. The madrasa, which was also used during the Ottoman era, was abandoned at the end of the 19th century. Karatay Madrasa, which holds an important place in the tile artefacts of the Anadolu Seljukid period, was opened to visitors in 1955 as the Tile Artefacts Museum.  \n  \nThe single-storied madrasa was built in the closed madrasa type in the Seljukid Era for *hadith* and *tafsir* education. Entering through the door, you arrive in a courtyard covered with a dome (now open), and from there you go through another door to the madrasa. The madrasa’s courtyard is covered by a dome with an opening to provide light and air, and is decorated with mosaic tiles. Short verses are written on the upper parts of the walls, on the dome pulley and on panels of cell doors.  \n  \nBasmala and Ayat-el Kursi inscriptions are located in the arches of the main house, through a tunnel vault to the west of the building. Triangles – transitional architectural elements of the dome – include the names of the prophets Muhammad, Jesus, Moses and David, and the names of the four caliphs: Abu Bakr, Omar, Osman and Ali. The domed cell to the left of the iwan is the tomb of Celaleddin Karatay.  \n  \nMost of the mosaic tiles that once covered the walls are gone. The colours of the remaining tiles are turquoise, dark blue and black.  \n  \nThe artefacts exhibited are from the Anatolian Seljukid and Ottoman periods. Tiles, plaster works, ceramic plates, candle holders and unglazed ceramics are exhibited in the chamber where the tomb of Celaleddin Karatay stands, and in the students’ cells to the south. The tiles from the Kubad-Abad Palace were made using lustre and underglaze techniques, and cross, semi-cross, eight-pointed star and square shapes.  \n  \nThe iwan contains tile remnants from the Seljukid era, and ceramics from the Seljukid and Ottoman periods. In the domed hall glass plates, tile pieces, ceiling fragments from Eşrefoğlu Mosque, and ceramics from the Ottoman era are displayed.","city":"Konya","address":"Alaeddin Meydanı  \nKonya, Turkey","phone":"+90 332 351 19 14","fax":"Not available"},"b01aedf8-4844-5526-8c45-e7dc4bd7a559":{"name":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation","description":"The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation aims to display, interpret, research and further develop the museum's collections for a wide range of local, national and international audiences, and to stimulate knowledge, appreciation and enjoyment of Islamic art, history, science and culture.  \n  \nThe magnificent building that houses the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation first opened in 1987 as the Souq al-Majarrah and quickly became a popular landmark, both among the people of Sharjah themselves and visiting tourists. The building was only the second of its kind in the Gulf region, after Sharjah’s “’New”’ or “Central’’ Souq constructed in 1977, to use traditional, Arab-Islamic design elements in its ground-plan and décor. The building with its impressive architecture and attractive design features was subsequently renovated and reopened in 2008 as the Museum of Islamic Civilisation. Its most outstanding feature is its majestic, gilt central dome, decorated on the inside with an intricate mosaic depicting the night sky and the signs of the zodiac.  \n  \nThe building now transformed into a state-of-the art cultural venue, the new **Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation**, houses more than five thousand exquisite Islamic artefacts from all over the Islamic World, arranged according to themes over seven spacious galleries and display areas.  \n  \nOn the ground floor you can visit the **Abu Bakr Gallery of Islamic Faith**, the **Ibn al Haitham Gallery of Islamic Science and Innovation**, a prominent display of **Islamic Coinage**, and the **Al Majarrah Gallery for temporary exhibitions** which is scheduled to hold regular exhibitions of international standing.  \n  \nThe entire first floor of the **Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation** is devoted to **Islamic Art**. Four spacious galleries take the visitor on a journey of artistic discovery which starts in the early Islamic period and leads all the way to modern times. Start your explorations with a visit to our state-of-the-art audiovisual show. Enjoy stunning images from all over the Muslim world and learn about the artistic achievements of its calligraphers and artisans.","city":"Sharjah","address":"Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, Corniche Road, Al Majarrah Area, Sharjah.  \nPostal address: P.O.BOX 39939, Sharjah.","website":"https://www.sharjahmuseums.ae/","phone":"+97165655455","fax":"+97165652988","email":"info@islamicmuseum.ae"},"b43ae2c6-2060-5819-bd1c-dd9ca66b9f11":{"name":"Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)","description":"With 100,000 objects dating from ancient times to the present, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is the largest art museum in the western United States. A museum of international stature as well as a vital part of Southern California, LACMA shares its vast collections through exhibitions, public programs, and research facilities that attract nearly a million visitors annually.  \n  \nLACMA’s seven-building complex is located on twenty acres in the heart of Los Angeles, halfway between the ocean and downtown. The campus is undergoing a ten-year expansion and renovation known as the Transformation and designed by the Renzo Piano Building Workshop.  \n  \nLACMA’s collections encompass the geographic world and virtually the entire history of art. The museum houses a highly significant collection of Islamic art. These widely diverse arts, from an area extending from southern Spain to Central Asia, trace the distinctive visual imagination of Islamic artists over a period of fourteen hundred years. The collection consists of over 1,700 works, of which some 150 examples are on view; these include glazed ceramics, inlaid metalwork, enameled glass, carved wood and stone, and manuscript illustration, illumination, and calligraphy. Particular strengths of the collection are glazed pottery and tiles from Iran and Turkey; glass, especially from the late seventh to the mid-thirteenth century; and Persian and Turkish arts of the book.  \n  \nThe museum began to concentrate seriously on Islamic art in 1973, with the acquisition of the Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, the generous gift of Joan Palevsky. Although the Heeramaneck collection forms the nucleus of the Islamic holdings, the focus and scope of the collection have developed considerably since 1973. Two important additions, both gifts, occurred in the 1980s. In 1985 the noted collector Edwin Binney, 3rd, bequeathed more than one hundred works, in particular examples of the arts of the book and ceramics of the Ottoman period. Approximately fifty glass objects, primarily of the early Islamic period, from Hans and Varya Cohn's splendid collection were given to the museum in 1988. The collection has been augmented further over the past two decades through gift and purchase, most notably the acquisition in 2002 of the Madina Collection of Islamic Art, made possible in large part by a generous gift from longtime LACMA benefactor and Trustee Camilla Chandler Frost. Its addition has created a new international focus on Los Angeles and on LACMA.","city":"Los Angeles","address":"5905 Wilshire Boulevard  \nLos Angeles, CA 90036","website":"http://www.lacma.org/","phone":"323 857 6000","email":"publicinfo@lacma.org"},"b4586981-2102-51f3-a3a7-5094a3b23509":{"name":"Further Associated Museums","description":"**Numismatic Museum of the al-Maghreb Bank**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**National Library**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**Badi Palace**  \nMarrakesh, Morocco  \n  \n**Royal Library**  \nRabat, Morocco  \n  \n**Ethnographic Museum**  \nTetouan, Morocco  \n  \n**Archeological Museum**  \nTetouan, Morocco  \n  \n**Museum of Ceramics**  \nSalé, Morocco  \n  \n**Kasbah Museum**  \nTangiers, Morocco","city":"Rabat, Marrakech, Tetouan, Salé, Tangiers"},"bd5ab87c-f83d-5fb3-87a9-cae4d57dff07":{"name":"Sharjah Heritage Museum","description":"Sharjah Heritage Museum first opened its doors in 2005. It has been renovated and re-opened in 2012 in Bait Saeed Al Taweel Al Shamsi, in the Heart of Sharjah.  \n  \nThe museum offers a great chance to engage in the rich heritage of Sharjah and Emirati culture, with a focus on lifestyle, deep rooted customs such as hospitality, traditions, trade and traditional knowledge. A visitor can explore the diverse environments of coast, desert and mountain that was naturally reflected in their lifestyle, habits and crafts. The museum provides a child-friendly atmosphere, with a series of folklore tales, old sayings and puzzles.","city":"Sharjah","address":"P O Box 39939, Al-Layyeh, Sharjah, UAE","website":"https://www.sharjahmuseums.ae/","phone":"+971 6 5680006","fax":"+971 6 5566003","email":"info@sma.gov.ae"},"c0c2fa4f-c38c-578e-8cc1-4703cc60b8a9":{"name":"Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts","description":"The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts was the first museum in Turkey to bring together works of Islamic art. It was founded in 1914 as the Museum of Islamic Foundations and housed in the Imaret building of the Süleymaniye Complex, built by the great Turkish architect Sinan in the 16th century. The museum was renamed the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts after the declaration of the republic and moved to its present location in the 16th-century Ibrahim Paşa Palace in 1983.  \n  \nThe core collection of the museum comprises Islamic artworks collected from across the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. These works include carpets, manuscripts, metalwork, glassware, ceramics, woodwork and ethnographic materials. The collection represents an extensive period ranging from the rise of Islam to the 20th century and the vast geographical area ruled by the Ottoman Empire.  \n  \nThe carpets, numbering some 1,700, in their quality and variety constitute one of the most important collections of carpets in the world, so that the museum is sometimes thought of as a carpet museum. But the museum also has other outstanding collections: the manuscripts collection represents all the ruling Islamic states from the AH 1st / AD 7th century to the 20th century across a wide geographical area. The metalwork collection allows visitors to follow the development of Turkish metalwork in Anatolia and the rich collection of woodwork ranges from the AH 3rd / AD 9th century to the Ottoman period. The glassware and pottery collections include artefacts recovered during excavations at renowned Abbasid centres such as Samarra and Keshan (Iran) and Raqqa (Syria) as well as artefacts from the Anatolian Turkish period. The stonework, most bearing inscriptions, includes examples from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Mamluk, Seljuq and Ottoman periods. The ethnographic department is the newest section.  \n  \nThe museum also organises, hosts and participates in temporary national and international exhibitions.  \n  \nAfter the grand restoration works The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts re-opened in April 2014, exactly 100 years after its foundation, with special exhibitions to celebrate its hundredth anniversary.","city":"İstanbul","address":"İbrahim Paşa Sarayı Atmeydanı Sok. No: 46  \nSultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey","website":"https://muze.gen.tr/muze-detay/tiem","phone":"+90 212 518 18 05 / 06","fax":"+90 212 518 18 07","email":"tiem@tiem.gov.tr"},"c4647cf3-9e83-5e5e-9a5b-4af7ed883bb1":{"name":"The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts","description":"The Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko National Museum of Arts (The Khanenko Museum) keeps the key national collection of world arts in Ukraine. It was established in 1919 on the basis of rich private collection of art and antiquities made up by a couple of outstanding Ukrainian art amateurs, collectors and philanthropists Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. The historical private mansion of the Khanenkos, built in late 1880s, is a particular object of interest and fascination due to its exquisite stylised interiors.  \n  \nToday the museum holds more than 25 000 works of painting, sculpture, prints as well as various kinds of applied arts of Europe (14th -19th century), Western, Central and Eastern Asia (3rd century BC – 20th century) and the Ancient World (4th millennium BC – 4th century). The world-famous rarities, four oldest Byzantine “Sinai” icons from 6th and 7th centuries, are an important part of the museum collection and display.  \n  \nThe museum permanent exhibition area is about 1300 m2. There are also two halls for temporary exhibitions with total area of 150 m2 that host Ukrainian and international museum art projects. In coming years the museum plans to enlarge its exhibition, educational, and depository areas by adding a new contemporary building in the yard.  \n  \nBeing the leading Ukrainian institution of informal education the Khanenko museum offers a wide spectrum of programs for adults, youth and children, visitors with disabilities. A new accessible official museum website in Ukrainian and English is currently under development planned to be launched in November 2019.","city":"Kyiv","address":"Tereshchenkivska Street 15-17  \n01004","website":"https://www.khanenkomuseum.kiev.ua/en/main","phone":"+38044 2350206","fax":"+38044 2350206"},"c79c9bf0-7954-5ad4-95e9-6020467c3765":{"name":"Istanbul Water Museum (İstanbul Su Müzesi)","description":"Established in January 2021 within Topkar Inc., the Istanbul Water Museum is dedicated to water, water civilisation and the cultural heritage of the Turkish bath.  \n  \nThe Topçu family, which owns the company, has cultivated for four generations a tradition of preserving everyday household objects. As one of Türkiye’s leading manufacturers of bathroom and kitchen fittings, the family united this passion with their profession and began collecting faucets, water vessels and related objects over 25 years ago, laying the foundation of the museum’s collection. In 2008, they became officially registered collectors with the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum.  \n  \nThe collection encompasses themes such as the relationship between water and humanity; fountains; sebils and faucets; water and belief; water and healing; cleanliness, bathing and hammam culture; and Istanbul’s famous spring waters. The collection includes a wide range of water-related objects, manuscripts, ephemera, postcards, engravings, paintings, calligraphy, marbling (*ebru*) and miniature artworks. Artefacts dating from the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ottoman and early Republican eras are exhibited chronologically and, in some sections, thematically across two galleries totalling 800 square metres. The Istanbul Water Museum is a member and Türkiye’s representative of the UNESCO Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-Net).  \n  \nTopkar regards the museum as a sustainable social responsibility project aimed at promoting water and hammam culture, preserving endangered traditions, fostering public awareness of water use and creating lasting cultural memory. The Topkar family celebrates its 40th anniversary with this meaningful initiative.","city":"Istanbul","address":"İkitelli OSB. Mh. Hürriyet Bulvarı No:54 Başakşehir-İstanbul-Türkiye 34490","website":"http://www.istanbulsumuzesi.org","phone":"+90 486 20 20"},"c8825cec-041d-5069-bbce-82c394d5e619":{"name":"National Museum Oman","description":"The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, established by royal decree in 2013 and opened July 30, 2016, is the Sultanate's flagship cultural institution, showcasing the nation’s heritage from the earliest human settlement in the Oman Peninsula some two million years ago through to the present day. As a national institution with global outreach, the museum is dedicated to ensuring that Oman’s cultural heritage is understood and appreciated not only within the Sultanate, but also internationally. Further, it aims to provide opportunities for cultural expression, innovation, and the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge from one generation to the next.  \n  \nThe museum is located in the heart of Muscat in a purpose-designed building. The total area of the building is 13,700 square metres (147,000 sq ft), including 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) allocated for 14 permanent galleries – The Land and the People Gallery, Maritime History Gallery, Arms and Armour Gallery, Aflaj Gallery, Currency Gallery, Prehistory and Ancient History Galleries, Splendours of Islam Gallery, Oman and the World Gallery, Intangible Heritage Gallery and Renaissance Gallery, among others. A further 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) are allocated for temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nThe National Museum houses 5,466 objects and offers 43 digital immersive experiences, a fully equipped Learning Centre, conservation facilities, an ultra-high definition cinema, and discovery areas for children. It features an integrated infrastructure for special needs and is the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille script for the visually impaired. The museum contains a voluminous collection of prehistoric metallic artefacts. It also houses the region’s first open-plan museum storage concept, where visitors can learn about the various processes that artefacts go through before they are put on display.","city":"Muscat","address":"P.O.Box: (1105)  \n113 Muscat","website":"https://www.nm.gov.om/","email":"booking@nm.gov.om"},"c9284900-9055-5081-9abe-863fad506cdc":{"name":"‘Ajlun Castle Museum","description":"This small museum was established in 1993 and renovated in 2003. It is located inside ‘Ajlun Castle. The artefacts displayed in the museum are limited to finds from ‘Ajlun district and date from the Neolithic to the Islamic periods. The collection consists mainly of pottery vessels, glass bottles, stone tools, metalwork, coins and inscriptions found in and around the castle.","city":"‘Ajlun","address":"P.O.B. 86  \n‘Ajlun, Jordan","phone":"+962 2 6420206","fax":"Not available"},"ca0e325c-0944-502c-ac42-7a2a27464669":{"name":"Museum of the Arab World Institute","description":"The 'institut du monde arabe' (Museum of the Arab world) in Paris houses a museum, labeled as a \"Musée de France,\" dedicated to the discovery and promotion of Arab culture. Located in the heart of the French capital, it holds a rich and diverse collection of artworks, historical objects, and cultural artifacts representing the various facets of the Arab world beyond stereotypes, showcasing its full diversity of cultures, ethnicities, languages, and faiths, from its origins to the present day. The museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions explore various themes covering a historical range from ancient Mediterranean civilizations to contemporary times, thanks to a rich collection of Islamic art and ethnographic objects as well as a collection of modern and contemporary artworks. The remarkable architecture of the building, designed by Jean Nouvel, blends tradition and modernity, offering visitors an immersive and captivating experience. The museum also offers educational activities, lectures, film screenings, and special events throughout the year, aiming to raise awareness about the richness and diversity of Arab culture. With its commitment to promoting intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, the Institut du monde arabe's museum is a must-visit destination for art enthusiasts and curious individuals eager to explore the treasures of Arab heritage.","city":"Paris","address":"1, rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard  \nPlace Mohammed V  \n75 236 Paris Cédex 5","website":"https://www.imarabe.org/fr","phone":"+33 (0)1 40 51 38 38"},"cda4e9a0-f14d-5a98-b6ce-3f8077d29e19":{"name":"MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art","description":"The MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts / Contemporary Art – is one of the foremost museums of its kind in the world. The building located on Stubenring in the 1st district of Vienna was founded in 1863 as the k.k. Österreichisches Museum für Kunst und Industrie (Imperial Royal Austrian Museum of Art and Industry) and today houses a unique collection of applied arts, design, architecture and contemporary art.  \n  \nThe MAK collection encompasses European and international decorative arts ranging from the Early Middle Ages to the present. The museum's main holdings include textiles, ceramics, glass, furniture and metalwork as well as exquisite objects of the Wiener Werkstätte (craftworks) and Art Nouveau. Its collection of Oriental carpets and East Asian art are of the highest international significance.  \n  \nAmong the objects from the Islamic world, the collection of Oriental carpets is pre-eminent, and the museum holds the largest collection worldwide of paintings of the *Hamzanama* from the era of the Mughal emperor Akbar the Great. Important examples of the applied arts are preserved in the MAK Asia Collection, most notably include objects from Iran and the Ottoman Empire.","city":"Vienna","address":"Stubenring, 5  \nA-1010 Wien  \nAustria","website":"http://www.mak.at","phone":"+43 1 711 36-248","fax":"+43 1 713 10 26","email":"office@MAK.at"},"ce74d7b6-89ad-505d-b715-aceee4f0de65":{"name":"Water Museum","description":"Established on December 29, 2014, by ActionAid Bangladesh, the Water Museum is the first of its kind in Asia, located in Pakhimara village, Nilganj Union, Kalapara Upazila, Patuakhali District. Operated by the Kalapara coastal community, it stands as a unique cultural and educational institution dedicated to Bangladesh’s rivers, water heritage, and climate change awareness.  \n  \nThe museum’s collections include water samples from 87 transboundary rivers—such as the Padma, Meghna, Jamuna, and Buriganga—preserved in glass jars, alongside samples from 57 international rivers. Exhibits display a wide range of material culture, ranging from fishing equipment, clay utensils, bamboo baskets, and other artefacts, all of which come from riverine communities, reflecting their traditional, water-dependent way of life. Photographs, infographics, and documentaries illustrate the history of over 700 rivers and the mounting threats of pollution, encroachment, salinity intrusion, and climate change. A large river map, models of river systems, and displays about flora, fauna, and policy frameworks enrich its educational role.  \n  \nBeyond exhibitions, the museum organises annual conventions on the Right to Water, “Blue Walks,” school-based climate clubs, and international water conferences, providing platforms for cross-border dialogue and advocacy under the “Water Commons” campaign. Since its inception, the museum has welcomed thousands of visitors, from schoolchildren and families, to experts and policymakers, while engaging an even wider audience through its online presence.  \n  \nThe Water Museum embodies a call to action: preserving water heritage, amplifying community voices, and inspiring policy shifts toward sustainable water governance and river rights in Bangladesh and South Asia.","city":"Patuakhali","address":"Water Museum, Pakhimara Bazar, Kalapara, Patuakhali, Bangladesh","website":"http://watermuseum.net/","phone":"+880-1749053033","email":"aab.mail@actionaid.org"},"ce882b84-4e7b-5d76-9fe9-a1770bcc0da5":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","fax":"+974 4486 2555","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"d077cb9e-6c63-5943-b0b0-ef3de9ccf2af":{"name":"Khalili Family Trust – Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art","description":"In striving to provide a synoptic vision of the arts of the entire Islamic world, and since the 1970s, Professor Nasser D. Khalili has assembled his collection of Islamic art under the auspices of The Khalili Family Trust. With holdings of more than 28,000 objects documenting the range of artistic production of the Islamic lands over a period of some 1400 years, the Collection now ranks among the best in the world and represents a new generation of Islamic art collections.  \n  \nThe Collection includes an outstanding array of manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an and of illustrated manuscripts, and the coverage of the decorative arts – ceramics, textiles, glass, metalwork and lacquer as well as seals and coins – is comprehensive.  \n  \nThe holdings of manuscripts and folios of the Holy Qur’an are the first to have been assembled systematically in order to illustrate the whole history of Qur’an production, both in terms of time span and geographical range – from the 8th to the 20th centuries, and from Morocco to China. Similar sequences have been assembled for painting and the decorative arts. Glass, ceramics and metalwork, for example, are represented in the full range of techniques from the pre-Islamic period through to the 19th century.  \n  \nLater Islamic art has been given the same level of attention. The wealth of important objects and manuscripts from later periods in the Collection shows that much art worthy of our attention on aesthetic as well as historical and intellectual grounds was produced in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Another important art form of this period is Islamic lacquer, represented in the Collection by more than 500 examples.  \n  \nThe catalogue of the Collection is an unprecedented 27-volume series, of which several are now published, and when completed will form a unique survey of the field to date. *Studies in the Khalili Collection* is a second series of publications related to the Islamic art collection, presenting more detailed analysis of certain objects.","city":"London","website":"http://www.khalilicollections.org","email":"info@nourhouse.com"},"d07d9cf7-6371-548f-85b6-467c44c6008b":{"name":"National Museum Oman","description":"The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman, established by royal decree in 2013 and opened July 30, 2016, is the Sultanate's flagship cultural institution, showcasing the nation’s heritage from the earliest human settlement in the Oman Peninsula some two million years ago through to the present day. As a national institution with global outreach, the museum is dedicated to ensuring that Oman’s cultural heritage is understood and appreciated not only within the Sultanate, but also internationally. Further, it aims to provide opportunities for cultural expression, innovation, and the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge from one generation to the next.  \n  \nThe museum is located in the heart of Muscat in a purpose-designed building. The total area of the building is 13,700 square metres (147,000 sq ft), including 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) allocated for 14 permanent galleries – The Land and the People Gallery, Maritime History Gallery, Arms and Armour Gallery, Aflaj Gallery, Currency Gallery, Prehistory and Ancient History Galleries, Splendours of Islam Gallery, Oman and the World Gallery, Intangible Heritage Gallery and Renaissance Gallery, among others. A further 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) are allocated for temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nThe National Museum houses 5,466 objects and offers 43 digital immersive experiences, a fully equipped Learning Centre, conservation facilities, an ultra-high definition cinema, and discovery areas for children. It features an integrated infrastructure for special needs and is the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille script for the visually impaired. The museum contains a voluminous collection of prehistoric metallic artefacts. It also houses the region’s first open-plan museum storage concept, where visitors can learn about the various processes that artefacts go through before they are put on display.","city":"Muscat","address":"P.O.Box: (1105)  \n113 Muscat","website":"https://www.nm.gov.om/","email":"booking@nm.gov.om"},"d2b9c791-32d7-590a-9a1b-3f6766d360d6":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","fax":"+974 4486 2555","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"d321bef5-3599-590f-a696-aa3a0d57d455":{"name":"Benaki Museum","description":"The Benaki Museum is the largest and oldest museum in Greece operating as a foundation under private law. It was founded in 1931 by Antoni Benaki, a member of a leading Greek family of Alexandria. The current museum is decentralised: its hub is the neoclassical mansion presenting the evolution of Greek art from the Neolithic period to the present day. The autonomous buildings include the exhibition centre on Pireos Street, the historical archives in the Delta house, the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika gallery and the Museum of Islamic Art.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art is a renovated neoclassical building in Athens’ historic centre near the ancient Agora. It opened in 2004 to house the collection formed by Antoni Benaki during the early part of the 20th century, while he was living in Egypt. Subsequently enriched by other donations, today it contains c. 10,000 objects from the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, North Africa and India. It demonstrates the evolution of Islamic art up to the Ottoman period and corresponding developments to the middle of the 20th century. The collection includes ceramics, metalwork, jewellery, textiles, woodwork, glassware, ivories, funerary steles and arms and armour.  \n  \nThe visitor first finds exhibits from the 7th to the 12th century. Highlights are lustreware, door panels from Iraq, Fatimid metalwork, *tiraz* textiles and a unique reed mat from 10th-century Tiberias. The second gallery exhibits objects from the 12th to the 16th century with Seljuq ceramics, Mamluk metalwork and pottery and highlights a brass box with the signature of Isma’il ibn al-Ward al-Mawsili dated 1220 and the astrolabe of Ahmad ibn al-Sarraj dated 1328/29.  \n  \nThe third gallery displays a marble-lined reception room from a 17th-century Cairo mansion and its fountain, *qamariyya* windows and a *mashrabiyya* screen. Other exhibits include Iznik pottery and a 16th-century velvet saddle from Bursa. The last gallery presents arms and armour, and Qajar jewellery collected by Argine Salvagos, sister of the founder.  \n  \nDuring preservation work, a section of the ancient city wall of Athens from the 4th century BC was uncovered and remains *in situ* at basement level, accessible to visitors.","city":"Athens","address":"22 Agion Asomaton & 12 Dipilou Street  \nAthens  \nGreece","website":"http://www.benaki.gr/","phone":"+30 210 325 1311","fax":"+30 210 322 5550","email":"islamic_collection@benaki.gr"},"d9f6c12d-ca03-5d6e-b33c-c1a37daec1fa":{"name":"Glasgow Museums","description":"Although not the capital, Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland. It prides itself on its multi-cultural scene with a prosperous Muslim community representing the largest non-white Scottish group in the city and in Scotland. The Glasgow Museums collection is the biggest managed by any local authority in the United Kingdom and one of a handful of municipal collections that are recognized to have national importance. This service was founded in 1854 with the McLellan collection of European paintings, which was donated to the people of Glasgow by Archibald McLellan together with a building to house it. At present Glasgow manages thirteen public museums covering a wide range of subjects.  \n  \nGlasgow’s Islamic collections come from all over the world with objects from Africa, Spain, the Middle East and Central Asia. The oldest items date back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The earliest objects to enter the museums’ collections were donated in the 1870s. Though many of these are private donations, some were purchased by the museum service. The Islamic collections are mainly housed at The Burrell Collection, The St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, Glasgow Museums Resource Centre, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum.  \n  \nThe main strength of the Islamic collections lies in the large donation of Sir William Burrell and his wife, who gifted their massive and varied collection to Glasgow in 1944. It includes Iranian and Mughal Indian ceramics and carpets, Turkish and Uzbek textiles and embroideries, and Hispano-Moresque lustrewares. The other Islamic collections of Glasgow Museums include objects from Mughal India, Fatimid and Mamluk Egypt and Syria, the Ottoman Middle East, and 19th century Berber and Arab North Africa. In addition to all of the above, Glasgow Museums is interested in developing its contemporary Islamic collections by welcoming donations of modern Islamic arts and crafts, as well as strengthening the other areas within its Islamic collections.","city":"Glasgow","address":"The Burrell Collection  \nPollok Country Park  \n2060 Pollokshaws Road  \nG43 1AT  \nGlasgow, United Kingdom","website":"http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/","phone":"+44 141 2872550","fax":"+44 141 2872597"},"dbb0a6e3-2c73-51cc-8f47-ebf68dde4d73":{"name":"National Tile Museum","description":"The *azulejo* is among the most characteristic expressions of Portuguese fine arts and one of the elements that clearly identify the Portuguese culture and aesthetic language. The Museu Nacional do Azulejo acts as a showcase for the immense ceramic heritage found in many places throughout Portugal. It is one of the most important museums in the country and is unparalleled in Portugal this is due not only to its unique collection but also for being located in a peerless work of Portuguese religious architecture, the ancient Convent of Madre de Deus (Mother of God), founded in 1509 by Queen D. Leonor (1458‒1525). Following major works undertaken on the orders of King D. João III (1502‒66), further works followed in the reigns of D. Pedro II (1648‒1706) and D. João V (1689‒1750). Gilt-wood carvings covered the altars and picture frames, articulating with the blue of the *azulejo*.  \n  \nThe collection covers the production of *azulejo* from the second half of the 15th century to the present day. In addition to the*azulejo*, the collection integrates ceramics, porcelain and *faience* of the 19th and 20th centuries.  \n  \nThe route through the exhibition allows the visitor to enjoy an overview of the history of *azulejo* production in Portuguese territory up to the present day, as well as to visit some parts of the ancient convent, with particular reference to the Church, the chapter-house, the cloisters and the Chapel of Saint Anthony.  \n  \nThe exhibition begins with the Islamic origins of the *azulejo* seen in both its name and the techniques and decoration used. From this brief introduction, the route follows a chronological organisation. The highlights of the exhibition include an *azulejo* made in Seville (c.1508‒1509) with the armillary sphere (King D. Manuel’s personal symbol); the retable of *Nossa Senhora da Vida* (Lisbon, c. 1580); the pattern compositions and the altar frontals of the 17th century: The *Leopard Hunt* and *Singerie: The Marriage of the Hen* (Lisbon, 17th century); commissions of blue-and-white tiles to the Netherlands (also covering the walls of the Church); and the Portuguese production, the *Grand Panorama of Lisbon* (Lisbon, c. 1700); as well as works by contemporary artists.  \n  \nThe National Tile Museum has one of the finest and most complete collections of contemporary authorial revetments, displaying the multiple proposals produced in recent times.","city":"Lisbon","address":"Rua da Madre de Deus, 4  \n1900-312 Lisbon  \nPortugal","website":"http://mnazulejo.imc-ip.pt/","phone":"+351 218 100 340","fax":"+351 218 100 369","email":"mnazulejo@imc-ip.pt"},"dcd4bbe2-60f3-5f7f-8e3a-0eba386ac5bf":{"name":"Sidi Kacem al-Jalizi Museum","description":"Built during the 9th / 15th century by Sidi Kacem, the mausoleum has been transformed into a museum of ceramics. It consists of an entrance hall leading to a ceramics workshop, and to a patio surrounded by rooms and a funeral space. The courtyard galleries and alcoves have been converted into exhibition spaces for ceramic objects. This collection traces different eras of Muslim history in Tunisia, and also includes objects of Persian origin.  \n  \nCeramic objects dating back to the Aghlabid era can be identified by the use of metallic lustre, archaic Kufic script, and stylised zoomorphic and anthropomorphic drawings as decoration. The pieces dating back to the Fatimid period are illustrated with animated scenes in blue on a white background.  \n  \nHafsid ceramics are distinguished by the absence of illustrated scenes in favour of geometric motifs with floral decoration in which cobalt blue and manganese brown dominate. There are also ceramic tiles dating back to the Ottoman era, some of which are decorated with bouquets of flowers.","city":"Tunis","address":"Musée de Sidi Kacem Al-Jalizi  \nrue du 9 Avril  \nTunis, Tunisia","phone":"+216 71 321452","fax":"+216 71 562452"},"defa425b-fe47-5a8e-bb82-33721be61de9":{"name":"Batha Museum","description":"Built in 1885, the original building was a courthouse and summer residence of the Alaouite sultan Moulay Hassan I before being renovated as a museum in 1915. The Batha Museum brings together archaeological collections, architectural elements and ethnographic objects relating to the city of Fez and its surrounding area. Since a reorganisation in 2006, the museum’s theme has revolved around spiritual life and the art of living.  \n  \nThrough large rooms overlooking the patio and garden, the tour begins with the city’s Islamic origins: manuscripts illuminated with gold leaf, liturgical wooden objects, planispheric brass astrolabes – and a rare example of a leather astrolabe dial. One section is dedicated to architectural elements. Wood is featured: friezes, panels, lintels and other corbels from different dynasties display Moroccan craftsmanship. Besides their artistic value, some pieces are historical and archaeological treasures, such as the beam dating from AD 877, the oldest wood in Islamic Morocco, evidence of the city of Kairouan’s artistic influences.  \n  \nZelliges (handmade terracotta tiles) are a distinctive feature of Moroccan-Andalusian Islamic architecture, with excellent collections here in the Batha Museum, with some dating back to the 14th century.  \n  \nAlso on exhibit are traditional arts from Fez, whose richness and variety are manifested in a collection of delicate embroidery in a single thread colour, and a variety of ornaments and wedding dresses for brides typically from the cities. There is also a rich collection of tin-based ceramics enamelled in a monochrome blue-grey.  \n  \nVisitors can discover rural crafts and museum-quality objects like jewellery and pottery outside the city of Fez.","city":"Fès","address":"Ksar El Batha  \nPlace du 11 janvier  \nFès, Morocco","phone":"+212 53 563 41 16"},"e0396062-330b-5c15-8ec4-2f6f68e8b2c0":{"name":"Aga Khan Museum","description":"The Aga Khan Museum presents and collects art from historically significant Muslim civilizations as well as contemporary Muslim communities and diasporas around the world.  \n  \nThe Aga Khan Museum has three primary exhibition spaces. On the first floor, the Collections Gallery and Bellerive Room are dedicated to showcasing the Museum’s Permanent Collection. In the Collections Gallery, visitors can enjoy rotating displays of nearly 200 masterpieces reflecting a broad range of artistic styles and representing more than ten centuries of human history. In the Bellerive Room, visitors are invited to explore selections from the impressive ceramic collection of the late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and Princess Catherine Aga Khan.  \n  \nThe core of its Permanent Collection — spanning a vast geographic area from Spain and North Africa in the west, across the Middle East, to South Asia and China in the east — was assembled by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (1933–2003), uncle of His Highness, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV. Prince Sadruddin began acquiring works of art in the 1950s while studying at Harvard University. Together with his wife, Princess Catherine Aga Khan, he continued to collect throughout his lifetime. His Highness the Aga Khan and his family have supported and expanded Prince Sadruddin’s collection since his death. Today, it represents the foundation of North America’s first museum dedicated exclusively to Islamic arts, where it is enhanced by superb objects from the private collections of Prince Amyn and His Highness the Aga Khan as well as new acquisitions, special exhibitions, and a rich roster of performances and public programs.  \n  \nOn the second floor, the Aga Khan Museum presents several special exhibitions each year that feature works from the Museum alongside art from partner museums and installations by contemporary artists. These displays are complemented by performing arts programs, lectures, and workshops.","city":"Toronto","address":"77 Wynford Drive,  \nToronto, ON  \nCanada","website":"https://www.agakhanmuseum.org/"},"e8b57a0a-b7bf-5928-ad5a-f258a088b575":{"name":"MIBACT | Collection of former Museum of Industrial Art (M.A.I.)","description":"MAI was founded in Rome in 1874 on the initiative of Baldassarre Odescalchi, Augusto Castellani and Raffaele Erculei to collect handmade artefacts – glass, ceramics, sculptures, painted fabrics and plaster casts – from ancient times to the 17th century, and to be a training school for craftworkers on the model of other European institutions, such as South Kensington Museum, London. Combining theory and experimentation in cooperation with the schools, it never became a national museum. Located for a year in the former convent of San Lorenzo in Lucina, it was moved to the Collegio Romano and then to other locations, until its closure during World War II, when the collections were moved to the storerooms of various Roman museums: Palazzo Venezia, Palazzo Barberini, Castel Sant'Angelo, Palazzo Braschi, the Museum of Roman Civilisation and the State Institute of Art Galileo Galilei.  \n  \nThe National Gallery Palazzo Barberini houses the core of c. 2,000 objects, in particular ceramics, glass, porcelain and wooden sculptures.","city":"Rome","address":"Via delle Quattro Fontane, 13  \n00184 Roma  \nItaly","website":"http://galleriabarberini.beniculturali.it/","phone":"+39 06 4814591","email":"sspsae-rm.gnaa@beniculturali.it"},"e916188b-3d88-5514-afb4-d5123a65224f":{"name":"National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art","description":"The National Museum of Antiquities and Islamic Art is the oldest museum in Algeria and Africa. The collection was set up in 1835, five years after the French occupation, by the then Governor General Marshal Clauzel who appointed Adrien Berbrugger as its first curator. From 1838 onward, the early museum hosted pieces, of Algerian provenance, from Antiquity up until the Ottoman periods. Between 1838 and 1896, this early museum occupied different places of the lower Casbah, before settling in a beautiful park located on the heights of Mustapha Pasha - now known as the Park of Liberty - where it was officially inaugurated in 1897.  \n  \nSince then these two divisions of the museum’s collection, Antiquity and Islamic, have continued to grow. This collection makes it possible to exhibit the history of Algeria from its Libyan-Punic era through to the 20th century. The objects are displayed in two separate buildings: one houses the pre-Islamic collection whilst the other houses the collection of Islamic art, which was inaugurated in May 2003.  \n  \nThe ancient collection is very rich and includes collections of mosaics, sculptures, Libyan and Latin inscriptions, coins and medals, bronze, ivory, bone, ceramics and wooden objects.  \n  \nThe Islamic section was formed from the first collection of 1854, which included Algerian and Oriental objects. It has gradually been enriched by pieces uncovered through archaeological excavations carried throughout the country. This wide-ranging collection includes sculpted plasterboard from 10th century Sedrata, marble or plaster sculptures of the 11th century Qal'a of Beni Hammad as well as the chairs of the 11th century Almoravid mosques in Algiers and the 12th century mosque of Nedroma.  \n  \nThe furniture arts of North Africa is also widely represented in this museum. Shop windows contain Ottoman-era embroidery, clothing, ceramics, weapons, jewellery, chiselled brass and worked repoussé that comes from the urban centres as well as rural areas. Manuscripts and miniatures complete the collection.  \n  \nThe museum’s numismatic collection is exhibited in a reading room that was inaugurated in May 2006.","city":"Algiers","address":"177, bd Krim-Belkacem, Parc de la Liberté  \nAlgiers, Algeria","website":"https://m-culture.gov.dz/index.php/fr/mus%C3%A9es","phone":"+213 0 21 68 11 29","fax":"+213 0 21 68 12 56","email":"museemna@musee-antiquites.art.dz"},"ee0a71f8-dc12-5d5d-b02a-4402969e8274":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"The Museum of Islamic Arts of Kairouan is located in Raqqada, in a former presidential palace that was converted into a cultural and educational centre in 1986. It contains four rooms on the main floor and upstairs.  \n  \nOn the ground floor are:  \n– The ceramics room, which houses objects dating back to the Aghlabid, Fatimid and Hafsid eras. Those of the Aghlabid era are characterised by the use of metallic lustre glazes, archaic Kufic script and stylised zoomorphic and anthropomorphic images. This room displays a collection of blue Iznik ceramic tiles from Anatolia.  \n  \n– The hall of the Great Mosque, which houses religious objects such as friezes with floral and epigraphic motifs that form part of the roofing. There is also a reconstruction of the *mihrab* from the mosque and the door of the *maqsoura* (private enclosure).  \n  \n– The Lapidary Inscriptions Room, which is under development, will house flat, prismatic and column-barrel gravestones from the Kairouan Cemetery. It will also contain the inscription of the foundation of the city of Sabra al-Mansouriya, characterised by its writing style and its imposing size.  \n  \n\\- The Sabra al-Mansouriya Hall, expected to receive objects from the Sabra excavation, now contains the casting furnace found on the same site.  \n  \nUpstairs:  \nThe glass cases of the coin and jewellery room hold a large collection of coins dating back to the Aghlabid, Fatimid, Hafsid and Ottoman eras, showing their evolution over time. This room also contains glass objects from the Sabra site and the lantern from al-Mouiz.  \n  \nThe manuscript room contains a rich collection of parchment Qur’an folios from the library of the Great Mosque of Kairouan displaying the evolution of writing and ornamentation styles (3rd / 9th to the 13th / 19th century). The collection owes its unique reputation to the famous “blue parchment” of the 4th / 10th century. Enclosing these folios are leather bindings embossed with floral and geometric designs.  \n  \nAn exhibition such as this one helps us interpret the history of the city of Kairouan. The newer Sabra Hall, the Hall of Lapidary Inscriptions and the Hall of the Great Mosque of Kairouan will further our understanding.","city":"Kairouan","address":"Musée des arts islamiques  \nKairouan-Raqqada","phone":"+216 77 228126","fax":"+216 77 228469"},"f0c1b6b9-8198-5a97-9aea-8ebedfa90ca3":{"name":"Museum of Islamic Art","description":"At the order of Khedive Ismail Pasha in 1880 the collection of archaeological rarities from the Islamic era was begun in the mosque of Al- Hakim. The Council for the Preservation of Arab Antiquities, created in 1881 in association with the Ministry of Awqaf, supervised the House of Arab Antiquities, as it was then known, until 1930 when the museum was taken into the Ministry of Education.  \n  \nThe museum acquired only from mosques and public buildings in its first 20 years. Then it undertook its first excavation in 1910 in the vicinity of Doronka in Upper Egypt and a second excavation south of Cairo uncovering a section of the city of Fustat (first Islamic capital of Egypt).  \n  \nThe museum acquired many items through donations. King Fu’ad I gave a valuable collection of textiles, scales and seals as did King Farouk, Amir Muhammad Ali and Amir Yusuf Kamal. Amir Kamal al-Din Hussein, Yakub Artin Pasha and Ali Ibrahim Pasha also donated complete collections.  \n  \nThe collections, amounting to 7082 artefacts, were transferred to their current building, when the present museum was inaugurated in December 1903. In 1952, the name of the museum was changed to the ‘Museum of Islamic Art’ to reflect the scope of the collection: objects produced in the Islamic world and dating from the beginning of the Islamic era (AD 7th century) to the end of the AD 19th century. The number of recorded objects has now reached 103,000.  \n  \nThe collections include enamelled glass lamps, Egyptian ceramics and a rare collection of filigree waterpot filters of unpainted earthenware renowned for their lacework designs. There are also collections of woodwork, textiles and stones with inscriptions, while the collection of carpets is considered to be one of the greatest of its kind. Collections of scientific instruments display the extent to which Islamic civilisation has contributed to knowledge in many different fields. There is also an extraordinary collection of seals, weights, measures, gold, silver and copper coins.  \n  \nThe Museum of Islamic Art, having one of the most comprehensive and complete Islamic art collections in the world continues to develop and expand its collections and to modernise the building with its 25 halls, facilities and archaeological garden.","city":"Cairo","website":"https://www.miaegypt.org/","phone":"+20 2 2390 1520"},"f2c2b5c1-dd0f-5208-8f82-ff80d06d5bde":{"name":"Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ Museums)","description":"Founded in 1998 by H.E. Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani, the Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani Museum (FBQ) is the Sheikh’s brainchild and a monument to his enduring passion for collecting international items of peculiar and historical relevance.  \n  \nA museum with a global perspective, FBQ brings together over 30,000 objects from across the ages and a multitude of cultures. It represents, in effect, a modern version of a ‘Cabinet of Curiosities’, the historic and eclectic room of marvels from the Renaissance.  \n  \nThe journey through more than 30 galleries ranges from the prehistoric to the present day, encompassing several themes: Islamic art, Qatari heritage, carpets, weapons, vehicles, jewellery and currency. Gallery highlights also include a rebuilt Syrian house and the Quran room. The artefacts showcased in FBQ’s galleries embody Islam’s visual culture and its far-reaching traditions from southern Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. The thematic presentation of the works draws attention to the similarities of artistic forms and cultural expressions and their interdependence among societies.  \n  \nFBQ is much more than a museum. Since the construction of the main museum in Al Shahaniya in 1998 using local stone and traditional turrets, FBQ has been fulfilling the museum founder’s aim to create and share a new cultural heritage for Qatar and beyond. With the establishment of the Carpet Museum in the heart of Doha in 2014 and the addition of the Car Museum, the FBQ complex of museums aims to inspire people to engage with cultural heritage by sharing stories from near and far. FBQ strives to foster cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, education and public programs, both locally and internationally.  \n  \nIn 2010, the museum was selected by Qatar’s Ministry of Arts, Culture, and Heritage as one of the cultural landmarks of the ‘Doha 2010 Capital of Culture’ activities.","city":"Doha","address":"Zone 80, Street 9999 Building No. 365, Al Samariya  \nAl Shahaniya, Doha Qatar  \nP.O. Box number 006","website":"www.fbqmuseum.org","phone":"+974 4486 1444","fax":"+974 4486 2555","email":"info@fbqmuseum.org"},"f446146a-791c-5ab5-a762-4bd0263541be":{"name":"Moravian Gallery","description":"The Moravian Gallery in Brno, the second largest art museum in the Czech Republic, is exceptional for the wide range of artistic disciplines it covers. It is the only institution in the country collecting visual art that is concerned with painting, drawing, graphic art and sculpture – from the past and the present – as well as photography, applied art and design.  \n  \nFounded in Brno in 1961 by amalgamating the Museum of Applied Arts and the Picture Gallery of the Moravian Museum, it is housed in three centrally located and architecturally impressive buildings. The Moravian Gallery in Brno sets out to present visual culture from within the Czech Republic in a European context, through both permanent and temporary exhibitions. To achieve its goals it works together with a number of institutions at home and abroad and participates in international projects. At a global level the most renowned event organised by the Moravian Gallery in Brno is the International Biennale of Graphic Design, which has been taking place here since 1963.  \n  \nThe temporary displays and permanent exhibitions are enriched by an accompanying programme of lectures, guided tours, workshops, concerts and performances created to suit the whole spectrum of visitors. Special attention is paid to children, whether visiting individually or in school groups.  \n  \nA testimonial to the museum's accessibility is a collection of art for the visually impaired and related exhibition projects such as Possible Messages and Invisible Causes.","city":"Brno","address":"Husova 18,  \nCZ-662 00 Brno  \nCzech Republic","website":"http://www.moravska-galerie.cz","phone":"+420 532 169 111; 532 169 130","email":"info@moravska-galerie.cz"},"f5c11bd8-33ca-5552-a5d9-8437afd6ee27":{"name":"The Lebanese University","description":"The Lebanese University is the only public institution for higher learning in Lebanon. The university has 17 faculties across Lebanon and serves various cultural, religious and social groups of students and teachers.  \n  \nThe independent university enjoys administrative, academic and financial freedom. Among its educational goals are creating a unique mix of cultures and providing the basic and essential education to allow students to enter various professions.  \n  \nIn spite of the crisis in the region that has existed since 1975, leaving wounds and tragedies, the Lebanese University has remained the national home of science. Rivalling the most prestigious universities in Lebanon and abroad, and leading the process of human development that spread all over the country, its graduates became ambassadors of Lebanon in all the corners of the earth.  \n  \nOur university respects the national demand for academic freedom, which has become a right of scholars and specialists, based on laws and international conventions and regional organisations and sometimes more, applying the important rules of human rights: the right of learning and seeking knowledge with higher education and participation in international projects to develop academic programmes and exchange of research.The university has maintained the quality of higher education, although we seek more contact with the spirit of this modern age and its promising accomplishments by increasing relations and agreements with other universities and institutions all over the world. In spite of the political pressures on the people of the university and attempts to split them into factions, the majority of them have remained faithful to the spirit of the national organisation and the struggles of the early pioneers who insisted on building the edifice of national higher education, in the framework of the values of freedom and justice.","city":"Beirut","address":"Central Administration, Museum, Beirut  \n  \nPostal address: P.O. Box 6573/14 Badaro, Museum  \nBeirut  \nLebanon","website":"http://www.ul.edu.lb/","phone":"+961 1 612830; 1 612831","email":"ibady@ul.edu.lb"},"f6a3053d-d710-547e-be54-96097d448f7a":{"name":"National Museum of Damascus","description":"The National Museum in Damascus was established under the supervision of the Ministry of Education in 1919. The original core of this museum's contents was initially kept at the Madrasa al-'Adiliya. The collection gradually increased and the discovery of the Umayyad palace of Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi in the Syrian desert in 1936 further spurred into action plans for a newer and bigger museum. A building located next to Al-Takiyya al-Sulaymaniya was chosen for the establishment of the National Museum of Damascus.  \n  \nQasr Al-Hayr Al-Gharbi added new emphasis to the importance of devoting more attention to the Islamic period and the Directors of Antiquities decided to incorporate these palatial finds into the National Museum of Damascus. After much hard work and technical expertise, the front façade of the Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi was transposed and carefully reconstructed as the National Museum's main entrance. The side halls and the second floor were designated for the most important artistic finds of this early Islamic palace. The completion of the display took several years and the official opening was celebrated in 1950.  \n  \nIn 1953 a three-storey wing was added to house and display ancient oriental antiquities, the Islamic period, modern Syrian art, and temporary exhibitions.  \n  \nOne of the more recent extensions included three double halls for the Islamic period, a new lecture hall and a library. The lecture hall was furnished as a 19th-century Damascene reception hall, a masterpiece of late decoration and ornamentation in its own right. The opening of this extension took place in 1963.  \n  \nIn 1974 there were further additions, this time devoted to the Palaeolithic period. And lastly, in 2004, the temporary exhibition wing was transformed into a permanent collection of Neolithic antiquities.  \n  \nAt present, the National Museum of Damascus consists of the following sections:  \n  \n1\\. Palaeolithic.  \n2\\. Neolithic.  \n3\\. Ancient Syrian Oriental.  \n4\\. Classical.  \n5\\. Islamic.  \n6\\. Modern Arts.","city":"Damascus","address":"Qasr el-Heir Street  \nDamascus, Syria","phone":"+963 11 2234331","fax":"+963 11 2247983","email":"sam.orient@mail.sy"},"f7ad767b-6858-5305-9b31-88d0f48a19fb":{"name":"Saint Louis Art Museum","description":"Mission  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum collects, presents, interprets, and conserves works of art of the highest quality across time and cultures; educates, inspires discovery, and elevates the human spirit; and preserves a legacy of artistic achievement for the people of St. Louis and the world.  \n  \nHistory  \n  \nThe Saint Louis Art Museum was founded in 1879, at the close of a decade that saw the establishment of art museums in great cities across the eastern half of the United States. This Museum’s comprehensive collections bear witness to the inspirational and educational goals to which its founder aspired and the moral and democratic imperatives he embraced. What began as a collection of assorted plaster casts, electrotype reproductions, and other examples of good design in various media rapidly gave way to a great and varied collection of original works of art spanning five millennia and six continents. Today the quality and breadth of the Museum’s collection secure for it a place among the very best institutions of its kind.  \n  \n(*Saint Louis Art Museum Handbook of the Collection*)**","city":"Saint Louis","address":"1 Fine Arts Drive, Forest Park  \nSt. Louis, Missouri 63110","website":"http://www.slam.org","phone":"+1 314.721.0072","fax":"+1 314.721.6172","email":"info@slam.org"},"f7e39862-fd17-55f3-bcf9-cb93787c8817":{"name":"MIBACT | National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography “Luigi Pigorini”","description":"The National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography was founded in 1875 by Luigi Pigorini. The museum is the main Italian centre for the preservation and display of pre-historic and non-European collections. Its main tasks are: archaeological and anthropological research; study, documentation and conservation of the museum’s collections; management of permanent and temporary exhibitions; educational programmes; and training in conservation, museological, archaeological and anthropological fields.  \n  \nToday, testifying to the new Italian multicultural reality, the Pigorini Museum offers itself as a cultural point of reference and a privileged interlocutor for immigrants and for the ethnic minorities already settled in the country.","city":"Rome","address":"Piazza Guglielmo Marconi, 14  \n00144 Roma  \nItaly","website":"www.pigorini.beniculturali.it","phone":"+39 06 549521","fax":"+39 06 54952310","email":"s-mnpe@beniculturali.it"},"f937f9c2-61b9-5201-b1ec-08251315e395":{"name":"National Museum of Decorative Arts","description":"The National Museum of Decorative Arts (MNAD) devotes its permanent collection to historical and current domestic spaces and allows visitors to experience the daily life of various cultures. Temporary exhibitions focus primarily on the contemporary designers and artists – both established and emerging – that create our environment. Through these visiting exhibits, the museum is able to display parts of the permanent collection kept in storage and generally not visible to the public.  \n  \nThe museum houses a permanent collection of over 70,000 objects from several geographic origins; mainly Spain, but also other European countries and the Far East. The collection covers a long chronological period. The oldest pieces date from the 4th century BC, but the chronological sequence goes from the 14th century until the first half of the 21st century, including the collection of avant-garde design as well as recent acquisitions of contemporary design.  \n  \nThis broad collection includes a full range of materials, techniques and typologies, including textiles, metalwork, furniture, ceramics, glass, costumes, silver, ironwork, ivory, photographs, prints and documents.  \n  \nIn 1934 the museum moved to its present location, a mansion built in 1878 by the architect José María González for Doña María del Carmen Espinosa, the Duchess of Santoña. Part of the original red-brick and stone facade, the imperial staircase of white Italian marble decorated with medallions and the Italian mosaic floors by Pellerin and Domenico still remain from the original concept of the building, a residence in the Romantic style. In the 1940s the architect Luis Moya added two floors above the original ones, structured in enfilade around a central court. Since then, the museum has undergone various improvements.","city":"Madrid","address":"C/ Montalbán, 12  \n28014 Madrid  \nSpain","website":"http://mnartesdecorativas.mcu.es/","phone":"+34 91 532 64 99","fax":"+34 91 523 20 86","email":"mnad@mecd.es"},"fa4acaf4-e4a9-5f92-8877-0946904fdbd3":{"name":"Silves Archaeological Museum","description":"Brief History  \n  \nInaugurated in 1990, the Silves Museum was built around the magnificent 12th-13th century Almohad well-cistern, which was discovered through archaeological excavations in the 1980s. The site is currently classified as a national monument and is the centrepiece of the Silves Museum’s permanent exhibition. The museum space also integrates the Almohad era city wall, making it not only a museum that exhibits a significant historical collection, but also a rare jewel of present day Portuguese Islamic heritage.  \n  \nSince its inauguration the museum has left its permanent collection, consisting of around 800 mostly ceramic objects, open to public viewing. The museum also contains a plethora of objects in reserve which were acquired through several archaeological excavations conducted throughout Portugal.  \n  \nCollection  \n  \nChronologically divided into five sections, the museum includes a collection of Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman era objects. Its collections are distinguished not just by the quantity but also by their exceptional quality and includes objects from the medieval Islamic periods. These constitute objects from the Umayyad Caliphate, the Taifa era, the Almoravid and the later Almohad dynasties, representing a long period of Islamic rule that ranged from the 8th to the 13th centuries CE. Due to the nature of the site, there is a strong representation of objects from the Almohad period between the 12th and 13th centuries, which attest to the richness and importance of Silves during this historic period.  \n  \nThe museum’s collection also exhibits a range of comparatively modern objects, from the 15th to the 17th centuries, which attest to the influential and complex network of trade routes between the city of Silves and other significant ports of the time.  \n  \nPublic Outreach  \n  \nThe museum has been developing a programme of temporary exhibitions from its own funds as a means to not only showcase certain presentations, but also strengthen cultural relations with countries that were historically linked to the municipality of Silves. Among these include projects with the Kingdom of Morocco.  \n  \nThe museum’s educational department plays a key role in the attraction and retention of the public awareness. This is done through prioritising communication with young audiences and providing them with tools that help interpret the museum’s archaeological collection.  \n  \nIt is through this approach that the pedagogic workshops were formed which, with the help of local artisans, offer a range of activities that help raise awareness towards the historic material culture showcased in the museum. These include pottery, ceramics, weaving and calligraphy. For other audiences who wish to experience a wider variety of themes, there are workshops centred on the local environment, heritage, playhouses, the sciences as well as tours that complement temporary exhibitions. Lastly, to stimulate further interest and promote the study of the collection, the museum has developed projects and activities with other international networks that have similar interests.","city":"Silves","address":"Rua Porta de Loulé, n. 14  \n8300-129  \nSilves, Portugal","website":"https://www.cm-silves.pt/pt/menu/547/museu-municipal-de-arqueologia-de-silves.aspx","phone":"+351 282 444 832","fax":"+351 282 440 856","email":"museu.municipal@cm-silves.pt"},"fea32901-ad4a-5972-8043-fd04f11ab0ee":{"name":"Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia","description":"Interest in Islamic art has grown enormously in recent years. Reflecting this awareness, in December 1998 Malaysia became home to Southeast Asia’s largest museum of Islamic art. The building occupies 30,000 square metres, situated amid the leafy surroundings of central Kuala Lumpur’s Lake Gardens.  \n  \nThe Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia houses more than ten thousand artefacts, as well as an exceptional library of Islamic art books. The art objects on display range from the tiniest pieces of jewellery to one of the world’s largest scale models of the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The aim is to create a collection that is truly representative of the Islamic world. Instead of concentrating on works from the heartlands of Persia and the Middle East, IAMM also puts the emphasis on Asia. China and Southeast Asia are especially well represented. The third component of the Malaysian melting pot is India, which is also given special status. India, China and the Malay World are in an exceptional category. Other parts of the collection are displayed according to type rather than geographical origins in the museum’s 12 galleries.  \n  \nIranian tile workers transformed the iwan-style entrance into a ceramic tapestry that frames a welcoming verse from the Qur’an. On the roof, these artisans turned the dome-construction traditions of Central Asia into the building’s crowning glory. The turquoise-coloured domes are now a landmark on the Kuala Lumpur skyline.  \n  \nInside the building, the angularity of 21st century design is contrasted with the soft, rounded forms of the five domes that dominate the museum’s interior. Laboured over by craftsmen from Uzbekistan, these imposing features help form an ambience that is both airy and harmony. The seamless continuity of light and space is maintained throughout the galleries and into other areas of the museum, such as the library and the restaurant.","city":"Kuala Lumpur","address":"Jalan Lembah Perdana  \n50480 Kuala Lumpur  \nMalaysia","website":"http://www.iamm.org.my","phone":"+603 20927070; +603 22742020","fax":"+603 22740529","email":"info@iamm.org.my"}}