Regarding the exhibition: the Munich exhibition Masterpieces of Muhammadan Art (1910) and its scholarly position’

Abstract

During the summer of 1910, an exhibition titled Masterpieces of Muhammadan Art was held in the municipal exhibition grounds of Munich. Gathering around 3,600 objects from approximately 250 international collections, it was one of the largest events of its kind ever held and gave significant momentum to the foundation of ‘Islamic art history’ as a discipline. This paper seeks to present a general outline of the exhibition against the background of early twentieth-century cultural history. It focuses particularly on the exhibition as a temporary research institution, which not only displayed objects but also provided a scholarly environment that ultimately contributed to the creation of a modern academic canon of the arts of Islam.

Keywords

• Islamic art
• Sarre
• Kühnel
• van Berchem
• Bell
• Munich
• masterpiece
• exhibition