This page covers the following:
Exhibition Credits
Website Credits
Object Captions/Credits
 

This exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, promoting excellence in the humanities. Additional support was provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, Amina and Ahmad Adaya, and Joan Palevsky. Support for the conservation research component of the exhibition was provided in part by a grant from The Barakat Foundation. An indemnity has been granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this website do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for the symposium was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Hagop Kevorkian Fund, Amina and Ahmad Adaya, Joan Palevsky, Catherine Glynn Benkaim, the Norma Jean Calderwood Professorship of Islamic and Asian Art at Boston College, and Mohammed Rezai.

Transportation assistance was provided by Lufthansa German Airlines.

Education programs at the museum are supported in part by grants from the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department, the California Arts Council, and the William Randolph Hearst Endowment Fund for Arts Education.

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Website Credits
Producers
Linda Komaroff, curator, Islamic art and department head, Ancient and Islamic Art, LACMA
Jane Burrell, chief, Art Museum Education, LACMA

Web design and development:
Ann Zumwinkle and John Marchena, zumwinkle.com
assistance from Elise Caitlin, LACMA Internet/Intranet Developer

Additional project assistance from the following staff members
of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA):
Susan Alderson Hoffman, art historian and museum educator
Giselle Arteaga-Johnson, rights and reproductions assistant, Rights and Reproduction
Peter Brenner, supervising photographer, Photo Services
Sara Cody, associate editor, Publications
Katherine Go, designer, Graphic Design
Ed Rothfarb, graduate-student intern, UCLA, Art History department
Jenifer Shell, graphic design production manager, Education
Sarah Sherman, curatorial administrator, Ancient and Islamic Art
John Stalder, digital archiver, Photo Services

Introductory Music: Mystics and Fools by Axiom of Choice courtesy of Narada Productions. [www.axiomofchoice.com]

Object Captions/Credits

Introduction

Shah Zav Enthroned
Page from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Iran, probably Tabriz, 1330s
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Purchase, Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (S1986.107)
cat. 39

Section 1
The Mongols in China

Dragon Protome
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), second half of the 13th century
White marble
Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
cat. 204
Cenotaph
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368), 14th century
Stone
Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
cat. 205
Six Horses
China, late 12th–early 13th century and 14th century
Handscroll, ink and color on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Bequest of John M. Crawford, Jr., 1988 (1989.363.5)
cat. 177
© 1990 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Malcolm Varon
Textile with Griffins
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Lampas weave, silk
Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
cat. 182
Wine Jar with Lion-Head Handles
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Porcelain, underglaze painted
The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund (1962.154)
cat. 193

Section 2
The Mongols in Iran

Enthronement Scene
Iran (possibly Tabriz), early 14th century
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung (Diez A fol. 70, 5.22)
cat. 19
Photo: Ellwandt, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Sindukht Becoming Aware of Rudaba’s Actions
Page from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Iran (probably Tabriz), 1330s
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Purchase, Smithsonian Unrestricted Trust Funds, Smithsonian Collections Acquisition Program, and Dr. Arthur M. Sackler (S1986.102)
cat. 37
Tent Hanging
Eastern Iran or Central Asia, late 13th–early 14th century
Lampas weave (tabby and twill), silk, gilded strips
The David Collection, Copenhagen (40/1997)
cat. 73
Star and Cross Tiles
Iran (probably Takht-i Sulaiman), 1270s
Fritware, overglaze painted (lajvardina)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Shinji Shumeikai Acquisition Fund (AC1996.115.1–4)
cat. 83
Photo © 2003 Museum Associates/LACMA
Cup with Fish-Shaped Handles
Golden Horde (Southern Russia), late 13th–14th century
Gold sheet, handles worked in repoussé and engraved
State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (SAR-1613)
cat. 139

Mihrab
Iran, Kashan, early 14th century
Fritware, molded, overglaze luster-painted with touches of cobalt blue
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection
Gift of Joan Palevsky M.73.5.1
Photo: © 2003 Museum Associates/LACMA
 
Tent Mosque
Iran, early 14th century
Ink and colors on paper
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung (Diez A fol. 70, S. 8, nos. 1,2)
cat. 31
Photo: Ellwandt, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Two Folios from Öljeitü’s Mosul Qur’an
Copied by ibn Zayd al-Husaini ‘Ali ibn Muhammad
Iraq (Mosul) A.H. 706–11/A.D. 1306–11
Ink and colors on paper, 5 lines of muhaqqaq script to the page
The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin (Is 1613.1, 1613.2)
cat. 65
© The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
Candlestick
Iran, A.H. 708/A.D. 1308–9
Bronze, inlaid with silver
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Mrs. Edward Jackson Holmes (55.106)
cat. 160
Photo © 2002 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Qur’an Stand
Hasan ibn Sulaiman al-Isfahani
Iran or Central Asia, A.H. Dhu al-Hijja 761/A.D. October–November 1360
Wood, carved and inlaid
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1910 (10.218)
cat. 176
© 1990 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Section 4
The Art of the Book

Death of Musa (Moses)
Jami‘ al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
Iran (Tabriz), A.H. 714/A.D. 1314–15
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London (MSS 727, folio 294b)
Cat. 7
© Nour Foundation
The Birth of the Prophet Muhammad
Jami‘ al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
Iran (Tabriz), c. A.H. 714/A.D. 1314–15
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Edinburgh University Library (MS Arab 20, folio 42r)
Cat. 6
Page from the Mu’nis al-ahrar fi daqa’iq al-ash‘ar
(The Free Men’s Companion to the Subtleties of Poems)
Copied by the author and compiler, Muhammad ibn Badr al-Din Jajarmi
Iran (Isfahan), A.H. 741/A.D. 1341
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cora Timken Burnett Collection of Persian Miniatures and Other Persian Art Objects, Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 1956 (57.51.25)
cat. 10
© 1981 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bahram Gur Hunting Onagers
Page from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Iran (probably Tabriz), 1330s
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass., Jerome Wheelock Fund (1935.24)
cat. 57
Iskandar Killing Fur of Hind
Page from the Great Mongol Shahnama (Book of Kings)
Iran (probably Tabriz), 1330s
Ink, colors, and gold on paper
Keir Collection, Ham, Surrey (PP1)
cat. 49

Section 5
A New Visual Language

Candlestick
Sa‘d ibn ‘Abd Allah
Iran (Fars province), 1343–53
Brass, inlaid with silver and gold
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar
cat. 162
Canopy with Phoenixes
China, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Embroidery, silk and gold thread
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Gift, Louis V. Bell and Rogers Funds, and Lita Annenberg Hazen Charitable Trust Gift, in honor of Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg, 1988 (1988.82)
cat. 184
© 1996 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
 
Tapestry Roundel
Iraq or Iran, first half of the 14th century
Tapestry weave, silk, gold thread wrapped around a cotton core
The David Collection, Copenhagen (30/1995)
cat. 72
Bowl with Four Phoenixes
Iran, 14th century
Fritware, underglaze painted
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Nasli M. Heeramaneck Collection, Gift of Joan Palevsky
(M.73.5.215)
cat. 134
Photo © 2003 Museum Associates/LACMA
Mongol Archer on Horseback
Signed (lower right) Muhammad ibn Mahmudshah al-Khayyam
Iran, early 15th century
Ink and gold on paper
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung (Diez A fol. 72, 5.13)
cat. 20
Photo: Ellwandt, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
Lacquer Tray with Phoenixes
China, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)
Red, yellow, and black lacquer on wood
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.; Gift of Arthur M. Sackler (S1987.0396)
cat. 203
Three Belt Plaques
Southern Russia or Central Asia, 13th century
Gold, repoussé, chased and engraved, granulation
The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London (JLY 1012, 1836)
cat. 151
© Nour Foundation

Background and Page Header

Textile with Winged Lions and Griffins
Central Asia, mid-13th century
Lampas weave (tabby and tabby), gold thread on silk foundation
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund (1989.50)
cat. 69