EXHIBITION

CONOSCENZA E LIBERTÀ. ARTE ISLAMICA AL MUSEO CIVICO MEDIEVALE DI BOLOGNA

MUSEO CIVICO MEDIEVALE, BOLOGNA, 20 APRIL – 15 SEPTEMBER 2024

CURATED BY ANNA CONTADINI (SOAS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON)

The wonderful objects in this exhibition are designed to display the Museum’s outstanding collection of Islamic objects, which includes some undisputed masterpieces. They are the fruit of targeted collecting which includes that of Bolognese collectors and scholars Ferdinando Cospi in the XVII, Luigi Ferdinando Marsili in the XVIII and Pelagio Palagi in the XIX century. Knowledge of them allows us to comprehend the contribution made by the cultures that produced them to European art and thought, and frees us from prejudices and stereotypes. The themes of the exhibition, in fact, reveal the transmission of scientific knowledge, of techniques of manufacturing and decoration and of the appropriation of ornamental repertoires that will become part of a global artistic vocabulary. The objects on display come from a wide swathe of the Islamic world, extending from Iraq to Spain, and cover a broad chronological span, from the beginning of the 13th to the 18th century. They are representative of the artistic production of the Abbasid, Zangid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman dynasties, and include Spanish examples of Islamic inspiration from the 15th and 16th centuries. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue of the same title.

For more information, see http://informa.comune.bologna.it/iperbole/media/files/arte_islamica.pdf or visit https://www.museibologna.it/medievale/schede/conoscenza-e-liberta-arte-islamica-al-museo-civico-medievale-di-bologna-1535/.