VISUAL ARTS

Ulrike al-Khamis, independent scholar, Edinburgh, Scotland

This lecture will explore the apparently sudden emergence of fully formed, luxurious inlay schemes in copper, silver, and occasionally gold, first employed on Islamic brass vessels associated with Herat in the east and Mosul in the west from the later 6th century AH (12th century AD). Departing from the traditional view that Iran/Afghanistan was the prime catalyst for this artistic phenomenon, the talk will examine the possibility of a more complex interplay of artistic traditions in its formation, including impulses from Mediterranean, Anatolian, and Near Eastern cultures.

Limited complimentary parking at Broadway Garage, 7 Felton Street.

The Norma Jean Calderwood Lecture Fund honors a longtime friend of the Harvard Art Museums who pursued graduate study in Islamic art at Harvard and who for many years taught Islamic and Asian art at Boston College and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.