‘Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century’

June 28, 2018

Between the 15th and the early 17th century, a wealth of Islamic works of art from around the Mediterranean found their way to Florence, while Tuscan luxury textiles went east. The ‘Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century’ exhibition, held at the Uffizi and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, sheds light on this artistic exchange and its 19th-century revival, drawing on the city’s vast collections, augmented by some key loans. A number of rarely-displayed carpets and textiles are among the highlights, as can be seen in the gallery below.

A full review will follow in HALI 197.

Photos by Louise Broadhurst, Head of Christie’s Oriental Rugs & Carpets Department.

Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century

26 images

Highlights from 'Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century', held at the Uffizi and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence.

Silk and metal-thread velvet (detail), Turkey, 15th century

Safavid silk fragment (detail), Persia, late 16th/early 17th century. Silk and metal-thread lampas

Velvet (detail), Bursa, Turkey, first half 16th century

Ottoman textiles from the 16th/17th century

Saz leaf detail from an Iznik tile, Turkey, 16th century

Velvet (detail), Bursa, Turkey, first half 16th century

Ottoman textiles from the 16th/17th century

Kemha (detail), Turkey, ca.1565-70. Silk and metal-thread weft-patterned brocaded lampas

Seraser silk and metal-thread lampas panel (detail), Turkey, 16th century

Medieval casket, chess piece and plaquette in ivory

Brass candlestick

Mamluk mosque lamp with inscription (detail), 16th century

Exhibition view

Kemha (detail), Turkey, 16th century. Silk and metal-thread panel

Voided silk velvet with metal thread (detail), Turkey, 16th century

Corner of a circular Cairo carpet, Egypt, 16th century

Circular Mamluk carpet, Cairo, Egypt, 16th century

Small-pattern Holbein carpet, west Anatolia, Turkey, 16th century

Exhibition view

Safavid ‘Polonaise’ kilim with the Vasa coat of arms (detail), central Persia, ca.1600. Silk and metal-thread tapestry weave

Two medallion types on a small-pattern Holbein carpet, west Anatolia, Turkey, 16th century

Chessboard carpet, Damascus?, Syria, 16th century

Lotto carpet, west Anatolia, Turkey, first half 16th century

Double-niche village carpet, central Anatolia, Turkey, 15th/16th century

Silk fragment (detail), Sasanid dynasty, Persia, 8th-9th century

Mamluk silk fragment (detail), Egypt or Syria, 14th/15th century

Categories

Classical carpets, exhibition, Iran, Ottoman carpets, Turkey

Tags

antique, carpet, exhibition, florence, Hali, hali magazine, Iran, Islamic art, Italy, rug, Uffizi