Splendors of the Ancient East: Antiquities from The al-Sabah Collection

Description

World renowned for its collection of Islamic art, the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait also houses an important collection of ancient art. Splendors of the Ancient East: Antiquities from The al-Sabah Collection presents a selection of ancient artefacts from the al-Sabah Collection, most of them reproduced for the first time. Covering a time span of some four thousand years, from the Bronze Age up to the dawn of the Islamic era, this exhibition presents some of the beautiful objects created in the Near East and beyond including Central and South Asia. This selection is united by the personal vision of Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and his wife, Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah. This vision is informed by a love of the beauty of these objects and an interest in the material culture of this region, from which grew some of the distinctive forms and design vocabulary of Islamic art. This volume illustrates one hundred of the most beautiful and important ancient objects in the Collection, most never before reproduced in print. With essays written by five of the most prominent scholars in their fields, Martha L. Carter, Sidney Goldstein, Prudence O. Harper, Trudy S. Kawami and Pieter Meyers, this is essential reading for anyone interested in the arts of this region.

Martha L. Carter has taught and curated at institutions including the Cleveland Museum of Art and the University of Wisconsin. Sidney Goldstein is a former Associate Director and Curator at the Saint Louis Art Museum.