The Metropolitan Museum of Art just opened up an exhibit on Islamic Art. It’s a good thing we had to blog about this exhibit, because I have a lot to say. Firstly, the size of the exhibit: It only takes ip one wall worth of display cases (around 30 ft) and displays around 40-50 pieces of art. I thought this was relatively small compared to many of the other exhibits in the museum, such as ancient Egypt or Japanese art. The art displayed is from around the start of the first millennium until the Middle Ages. Perhaps it was so difficult for the museum to build a larger exhibit because there is a lack of Islamic art from that time period. Art was generally looked down upon by the muslims because creating any likeness of God or Muhammed was considered a grave sin. With that kind of attitude, it’s no wonder that the art didn’t flourish like in other parts of the world. The display is made up of various different artifacts, as well as paintings.The artifacts range from bowls and plates, to pipe and pen cases. The art certainly reminds me of the other styles of art of that period. Two strikingly similar styles are the Japanese art, and Tibetan art. The japanese art on display at the Met from the same period looks almost identical, except that the Japanese used different symbols, and often their art depicted people, whereas islamic art usually does not depict anyone out of fear of sin. The artistic style, such as the way people are displayed in both Islamic and Japanese art is the same as in Tibetan art. The Rubin Museum of Art is filled with Tibetan art of the same time period, and the similarities are striking. These styles must have evolved together and at the same pace; trade between these asian countries would certainly serve as routes for cultural diffusion. The Islamic Art  exhibit is a wonderful addition to the Met and has expanded my knowledge of Asian art from the pre-Middle Ages.

A sample of Islamic artwork