* FANNIE SUNSHINE
* |
* Nov 24, 2011 - 9:00 AM
* |
BUILDING THE FUTURE: The Aga Khan Museum
The first of its kind in the Western world
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local ... han-museum
The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto
The Louvre is partnering with the Aga Khan
December 17, 2011 1 Comment
Translated via Google – December 15, 2011 – Yesterday, the Louvre and the Aga Khan Musem of Toronto signed a partnership framework for Islamic Art.
While the Museum of Louvre will open in a few months the Department of Islamic art , this agreement will enable the establishment of a policy of exchange and loans and the creation of joint projects (conferences, expertise and programs research).
The combination of the two museums had been initiated in 2007 when the Aga Khan had lent works for the exhibition ” Masterpieces of Islamic Art “at the Louvre . The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto , whose inauguration is scheduled for 2013, will focus on Islamic arts and cultures .
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2011/1 ... ilimail%29
December 17, 2011 1 Comment
Translated via Google – December 15, 2011 – Yesterday, the Louvre and the Aga Khan Musem of Toronto signed a partnership framework for Islamic Art.
While the Museum of Louvre will open in a few months the Department of Islamic art , this agreement will enable the establishment of a policy of exchange and loans and the creation of joint projects (conferences, expertise and programs research).
The combination of the two museums had been initiated in 2007 when the Aga Khan had lent works for the exhibition ” Masterpieces of Islamic Art “at the Louvre . The Aga Khan Museum in Toronto , whose inauguration is scheduled for 2013, will focus on Islamic arts and cultures .
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2011/1 ... ilimail%29
Garden in the city will draw from the past to connect communities today and tomorrow
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1313/Gard ... d-tomorrow
Gallery: Wynford Drive construction progress — January 2012
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1321/Gall ... nuary-2012
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1313/Gard ... d-tomorrow
Gallery: Wynford Drive construction progress — January 2012
http://www.theismaili.org/cms/1321/Gall ... nuary-2012
February 3, 2012
Steel hurdles for Aga Khan Museum build
DON PROCTER
correspondent
Fabricating and erecting 740 tons or so of structural steel required for the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto posed a series of unusual hurdles.
One of those hurdles was how to attach the steel frame for the second floor to the first floor — an inward-sloping poured-in-place concrete wall.
More....
http://dcnonl.com/article/id48623/--ste ... seum-build
Steel hurdles for Aga Khan Museum build
DON PROCTER
correspondent
Fabricating and erecting 740 tons or so of structural steel required for the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto posed a series of unusual hurdles.
One of those hurdles was how to attach the steel frame for the second floor to the first floor — an inward-sloping poured-in-place concrete wall.
More....
http://dcnonl.com/article/id48623/--ste ... seum-build
The Aga Khan Museum + Ismaili Centre Rise Alongside the Don Valley
July 9, 2012 12:36 pm | by Alex Corey | 2 Comments
The Don Valley Parkway has served as the entrance to the downtown core for countless residents and commuters alike, a drive that is loved for its views as much as it is despised for its gridlock. Memories of watching the CN Tower rise and fall amidst the lush valley defined the drive into the downtown core after long weekends at the cottage, a glimpse of the fast-paced city that awaits. While sporadic condominium and apartment towers have popped up alongside the valley, none standout quite like the Aga Khan Museum + Ismaili Centre, currently under construction just north of Eglinton and the DVP. The buildings’ unique rooflines and proximity to the parkway make-up for their relatively short stature compared to the nearby towers, and although they’re still very much under construction, they nonetheless warrant your attention as you drive - or crawl, depending on time of day - along the parkway.
Photos....
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/07/aga ... don-valley
July 9, 2012 12:36 pm | by Alex Corey | 2 Comments
The Don Valley Parkway has served as the entrance to the downtown core for countless residents and commuters alike, a drive that is loved for its views as much as it is despised for its gridlock. Memories of watching the CN Tower rise and fall amidst the lush valley defined the drive into the downtown core after long weekends at the cottage, a glimpse of the fast-paced city that awaits. While sporadic condominium and apartment towers have popped up alongside the valley, none standout quite like the Aga Khan Museum + Ismaili Centre, currently under construction just north of Eglinton and the DVP. The buildings’ unique rooflines and proximity to the parkway make-up for their relatively short stature compared to the nearby towers, and although they’re still very much under construction, they nonetheless warrant your attention as you drive - or crawl, depending on time of day - along the parkway.
Photos....
http://urbantoronto.ca/news/2012/07/aga ... don-valley
Persian painting from Aga Khan Museum featured on Canadian stamp celebrating Eid al Adha
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2012/1 ... ilimail%29
http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2012/1 ... ilimail%29
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article ... to-in-2013
Hume: Ten things Toronto can look forward to in 2013
Published on Tuesday January 01, 2013
An artist's rendering of the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan museum being built near Don Mills and Eglinton in Toronto.
Image
By Christopher Hume Urban Issues, Architecture
One year ends, a new one arrives, and with it hopes for something better. However irrational, that is the expectation for 2013 — that things will improve for Toronto. Let’s face it, 2012 wasn’t the city’s finest year. Which is not to say that we will get our civic act together, but here are a few of the things we’re looking forward to in the 12 months ahead, in no particular order:
• The opening of the Sisters of St. Joseph building at Broadview Ave. and O’Connor Dr. Designed by Shim Sutcliffe Architects, the new structure isn’t technically a nunnery, but it comes pretty close. The combined residence, health-care facility and administrative centre is contained in a spectacular copper-and-glass low-rise and a restored early 20th-century heritage residence. The opening is set for March; until then one must rely on faith.
• Occupying a large suburban site at Eglinton Ave. E. and Wynford Dr., the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre will transform this part of Toronto. Already the magnificent complex is turning heads — for now, mostly those watching as they drive by on the northbound DVP. When complete, its effect will be felt across the city. The architects — including Fumihiko Maki and Charles Correa — have created a place of surpassing beauty. As an act of faith in Toronto, a gift to the city, the centre is unparalleled.
Hume: Ten things Toronto can look forward to in 2013
Published on Tuesday January 01, 2013
An artist's rendering of the Ismaili Centre and Aga Khan museum being built near Don Mills and Eglinton in Toronto.
Image
By Christopher Hume Urban Issues, Architecture
One year ends, a new one arrives, and with it hopes for something better. However irrational, that is the expectation for 2013 — that things will improve for Toronto. Let’s face it, 2012 wasn’t the city’s finest year. Which is not to say that we will get our civic act together, but here are a few of the things we’re looking forward to in the 12 months ahead, in no particular order:
• The opening of the Sisters of St. Joseph building at Broadview Ave. and O’Connor Dr. Designed by Shim Sutcliffe Architects, the new structure isn’t technically a nunnery, but it comes pretty close. The combined residence, health-care facility and administrative centre is contained in a spectacular copper-and-glass low-rise and a restored early 20th-century heritage residence. The opening is set for March; until then one must rely on faith.
• Occupying a large suburban site at Eglinton Ave. E. and Wynford Dr., the Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre will transform this part of Toronto. Already the magnificent complex is turning heads — for now, mostly those watching as they drive by on the northbound DVP. When complete, its effect will be felt across the city. The architects — including Fumihiko Maki and Charles Correa — have created a place of surpassing beauty. As an act of faith in Toronto, a gift to the city, the centre is unparalleled.
Opening soon: Aga Khan Museum, Toronto10
Friday
May 2013
Posted by byzbets in art / history / medieval / byzantium
≈ 1 Comment
.Tags
Aga Khan, museums, Toronto
Aga Khan Museum will open in Toronto in 2014. The collection will have artworks and artefacts from the Muslim world. Canada’s commitment to pluralism, tolerance and inclusiveness is what attracted the Aga Khan to choose this country and city as the home for the museum. The Aga Khan trust for culture of the Aga Khan Development Network held a foundation ceremony for the museum and neighbouring Ismaili Centre in 2010. These Museum is being built adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway on Wynford Drive, north of Eglinton Avenue East. Link to coordinates on maps.google.com.
His Highness the Aga Khan, Karim Al-Hussain Shah, b. 1937), is spiritual leader of the Nizari sect of Ismaili Muslims. Here’s a little history and background, in case you need it: the first Aga Khan was given his title in 1818 by the shah of Persia. The current Aga Khan inherited the title in 1957. Nizaris are a sect that split from the Ismaili branch of Muslims in 1094 over a disagreement about the succession to the caliphate. Most Nizaris now live in the Indian subcontinent. Ismailis are a branch of the Shiite Muslims that seceded from the main group in the eight century because of their belief that Ismail, the son of the sixth Shiite imam, should have become the seventh Imam. (Incidentally, Prince Rahim, age 41, the Aga Khan’s son, recently announced his engagement to Kendra Spears, age 24, an American fashion model.)
The museum will show works from its own collection and temporary international exhibitions of Islamic art. The permanent collection includes well-known miniatures and manuscripts as well as objects in stone, wood, ivory, and glass, and metalwork, ceramics, and works on paper and parchment. The plan for temporary exhibitions is focused on highlighting the diversity in Islamic arts and cultures. They will explore innovative topics including the connections between Islam and other cultures within specific contexts such as the arts or sciences. A series of well-received exhibitions in European cities have given items in the permanent collection a wide audience.
The museum plans on facilitating continued cultural exchanges between Islamic and western communities. Its educational programs are designed for individuals of all ages, from school-children to researchers.
And, why yes—I’d love to teach an Islamic art survey course or related course using this museums resources!
http://byzbets.wordpress.com/2013/05/10 ... m-toronto/
Friday
May 2013
Posted by byzbets in art / history / medieval / byzantium
≈ 1 Comment
.Tags
Aga Khan, museums, Toronto
Aga Khan Museum will open in Toronto in 2014. The collection will have artworks and artefacts from the Muslim world. Canada’s commitment to pluralism, tolerance and inclusiveness is what attracted the Aga Khan to choose this country and city as the home for the museum. The Aga Khan trust for culture of the Aga Khan Development Network held a foundation ceremony for the museum and neighbouring Ismaili Centre in 2010. These Museum is being built adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway on Wynford Drive, north of Eglinton Avenue East. Link to coordinates on maps.google.com.
His Highness the Aga Khan, Karim Al-Hussain Shah, b. 1937), is spiritual leader of the Nizari sect of Ismaili Muslims. Here’s a little history and background, in case you need it: the first Aga Khan was given his title in 1818 by the shah of Persia. The current Aga Khan inherited the title in 1957. Nizaris are a sect that split from the Ismaili branch of Muslims in 1094 over a disagreement about the succession to the caliphate. Most Nizaris now live in the Indian subcontinent. Ismailis are a branch of the Shiite Muslims that seceded from the main group in the eight century because of their belief that Ismail, the son of the sixth Shiite imam, should have become the seventh Imam. (Incidentally, Prince Rahim, age 41, the Aga Khan’s son, recently announced his engagement to Kendra Spears, age 24, an American fashion model.)
The museum will show works from its own collection and temporary international exhibitions of Islamic art. The permanent collection includes well-known miniatures and manuscripts as well as objects in stone, wood, ivory, and glass, and metalwork, ceramics, and works on paper and parchment. The plan for temporary exhibitions is focused on highlighting the diversity in Islamic arts and cultures. They will explore innovative topics including the connections between Islam and other cultures within specific contexts such as the arts or sciences. A series of well-received exhibitions in European cities have given items in the permanent collection a wide audience.
The museum plans on facilitating continued cultural exchanges between Islamic and western communities. Its educational programs are designed for individuals of all ages, from school-children to researchers.
And, why yes—I’d love to teach an Islamic art survey course or related course using this museums resources!
http://byzbets.wordpress.com/2013/05/10 ... m-toronto/
Toronto Star - News / GTA
thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/24/aga_khan_museum_and_ismaili_centre_a_dramatic_intrusion_of_elegance_hume.html
Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre a dramatic intrusion of elegance: Hume
Toronto’s next important cultural institution, the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre next door will open this fall on Wynford Dr.
By: Christopher Hume Urban Issues, Published on Mon Mar 24 2014
It isn’t every day, or decade, that the city gets a beautiful new museum, not just paid for and fully stocked, but located in a part of town where architectural excellence is rare.
Toronto’s next important cultural institution, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Ismaili Centre next door will open this fall on Wynford Dr. near Eglinton Ave. and the Don Valley Parkway. The two stone-clad structures sit in a formal Islamic garden adapted to one of the most visible sites in Toronto, a 6.8-hectare high point known to countless commuters.
Until recently, this was the location of the Bata Shoe headquarters, a John Parkin masterpiece from the ’60s. Its disappearance upset many; at the same time, how can one argue with buildings by one of the India’s most respected architects, Charles Correa; Japanese master and Pritzker Prize winner, Fumihiko Maki and landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic?
The trio has transformed a high-profile suburban plot into a place of high culture, spiritual renewal, social gathering and tended landscape. In a terrain of broad strokes and left-over spaces, the detail will go unnoticed until one gets out the car and wanders around the new complex. That won’t be possible for some time, but a quick tour reveals a series of large interior rooms designed for maximum flexibility. The main prayer hall, capped with a magnificent glass dome and filled with light, is the heart of the centre. Other rooms, more social than sacred, radiate out from the hall.
Connected but separate, the Aga Khan Museum is a medium-sized facility spread over two floors and a series of galleries. Some will be programmed for the long-term; others for temporary exhibitions.
The aesthetic is clean — teak floors, white walls and windows broken only by Islamic screens. The granite on the exterior, soft-looking and creamy white, provides the perfect foil for the rows of trees and black reflecting pools that have turned the site into green oasis.
To their eternal credit, the Ismailis have planted mature trees, some 10 or more metres tall. No whips or saplings here, but a fully-formed landscape. The grass has yet to arrive, as does the museum’s 1,000-piece collection. Hardhats and work boots are still required, but the big moves have been made and spaces defined.
The simple facts of the $300-million project would make it remarkable anywhere; but on Wynford Dr. it takes on special significance. Though just down the road from the Ontario Science Centre, the Ismailis are bringing architectural and cultural excellence to an area more accustomed to office slabs and condo towers. Surrounded by anonymity, the new arrival has quietly but decisively remade the neighbourhood. The quality of design and materials alone make it a landmark, but it’s also the obvious attention paid to space itself, as if it mattered for the first time, was even valued.
Imagine, planting big trees and installing benches in the garden, as if visitors might want to linger awhile and enjoy the place. Everywhere else, the city’s in a rush; the Ismaili Centre will be a break from that; gardens aren’t for anyone in a hurry.
The very idea of putting such a garden in land marooned by highways may seem inappropriate, even oxymoronic, but as an act of urban reclamation, it is unprecedented, magnificent. On the other hand, the site’s prominence comes from those same highways. It is a billboard, seen by millions, a sudden and dramatic intrusion of elegance into the usual landscape of Car City.
And let’s not forget, the centre has underground parking for 650 cars, another 150 at grade. That will have to do until the subway arrives.
Christopher Hume can be reached at [email protected]
thestar.com/news/gta/2014/03/24/aga_khan_museum_and_ismaili_centre_a_dramatic_intrusion_of_elegance_hume.html
Aga Khan Museum and Ismaili Centre a dramatic intrusion of elegance: Hume
Toronto’s next important cultural institution, the Aga Khan Museum and the Ismaili Centre next door will open this fall on Wynford Dr.
By: Christopher Hume Urban Issues, Published on Mon Mar 24 2014
It isn’t every day, or decade, that the city gets a beautiful new museum, not just paid for and fully stocked, but located in a part of town where architectural excellence is rare.
Toronto’s next important cultural institution, the Aga Khan Museum, and the Ismaili Centre next door will open this fall on Wynford Dr. near Eglinton Ave. and the Don Valley Parkway. The two stone-clad structures sit in a formal Islamic garden adapted to one of the most visible sites in Toronto, a 6.8-hectare high point known to countless commuters.
Until recently, this was the location of the Bata Shoe headquarters, a John Parkin masterpiece from the ’60s. Its disappearance upset many; at the same time, how can one argue with buildings by one of the India’s most respected architects, Charles Correa; Japanese master and Pritzker Prize winner, Fumihiko Maki and landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic?
The trio has transformed a high-profile suburban plot into a place of high culture, spiritual renewal, social gathering and tended landscape. In a terrain of broad strokes and left-over spaces, the detail will go unnoticed until one gets out the car and wanders around the new complex. That won’t be possible for some time, but a quick tour reveals a series of large interior rooms designed for maximum flexibility. The main prayer hall, capped with a magnificent glass dome and filled with light, is the heart of the centre. Other rooms, more social than sacred, radiate out from the hall.
Connected but separate, the Aga Khan Museum is a medium-sized facility spread over two floors and a series of galleries. Some will be programmed for the long-term; others for temporary exhibitions.
The aesthetic is clean — teak floors, white walls and windows broken only by Islamic screens. The granite on the exterior, soft-looking and creamy white, provides the perfect foil for the rows of trees and black reflecting pools that have turned the site into green oasis.
To their eternal credit, the Ismailis have planted mature trees, some 10 or more metres tall. No whips or saplings here, but a fully-formed landscape. The grass has yet to arrive, as does the museum’s 1,000-piece collection. Hardhats and work boots are still required, but the big moves have been made and spaces defined.
The simple facts of the $300-million project would make it remarkable anywhere; but on Wynford Dr. it takes on special significance. Though just down the road from the Ontario Science Centre, the Ismailis are bringing architectural and cultural excellence to an area more accustomed to office slabs and condo towers. Surrounded by anonymity, the new arrival has quietly but decisively remade the neighbourhood. The quality of design and materials alone make it a landmark, but it’s also the obvious attention paid to space itself, as if it mattered for the first time, was even valued.
Imagine, planting big trees and installing benches in the garden, as if visitors might want to linger awhile and enjoy the place. Everywhere else, the city’s in a rush; the Ismaili Centre will be a break from that; gardens aren’t for anyone in a hurry.
The very idea of putting such a garden in land marooned by highways may seem inappropriate, even oxymoronic, but as an act of urban reclamation, it is unprecedented, magnificent. On the other hand, the site’s prominence comes from those same highways. It is a billboard, seen by millions, a sudden and dramatic intrusion of elegance into the usual landscape of Car City.
And let’s not forget, the centre has underground parking for 650 cars, another 150 at grade. That will have to do until the subway arrives.
Christopher Hume can be reached at [email protected]
http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/architect-r ... -1.2598756
Architect Raymond Moriyama launches $100K prize
Moriyama RAIC International Prize awarded every two years for an outstanding building or project
CBC News Posted: Apr 04, 2014 3:50 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 04, 2014 3:50 PM ET
Raymond Moriyama, seen in Ottawa in 2009, has established a biennial, $100,000 international architecture prize to celebrate an outstanding building or project.
Raymond Moriyama, seen in Ottawa in 2009, has established a biennial, $100,000 international architecture prize to celebrate an outstanding building or project. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Celebrated Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama is launching a $100,000 prize this fall that is being billed as one of the largest architectural prizes in the world.
Established jointly with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Foundation, the Moriyama RAIC International Prize will celebrate an outstanding building or project by an architect, a group of collaborators or an international firm anywhere in the world.
Alternately, the prize could also be awarded to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the field of architecture.
The $100,000 prize will be awarded every two years and will be accompanied by a handcrafted sculpture by Canadian artist Wei Yew — a distinctive trophy that will depict abstractions of the Canadian landscape.
Each winner will be chosen through an open, juried competition.
"My hope is that this prize will raise not only the stature of the RAIC internationally, but also the stature of Canada, and inspire Canadians and Canadian architects to aspire higher," the 84-year-old Moriyama said in a statement.
"Anybody, young or old could apply and have a chance of winning."
Inaugural gala this fall
The Vancouver-born Moriyama made a bequest to the RAIC Foundation to create the prize and organizers aim to raise a $5-million endowment for the honour.
Submissions for the fledgling prize will be accepted until Aug. 1 and the inaugural award gala will take place on Oct. 11 at the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, set to open this fall.
A sidebar to the main prize will also acknowledge the next generation: three students of Canadian architecture schools will be chosen to receive scholarships of $5,000 each based on an essay-writing competition.
A companion of the Order of Canada and one of the country's best-known architects, Moriyama has created innovative projects across the country and abroad, including the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.
Working with his longtime business partner Ted Teshima and others, he also designed Science North in Sudbury, Ont., the Scarborough Civic Centre, the Toronto Reference Library, the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, the National Museum of Saudi Arabia and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa
Architect Raymond Moriyama launches $100K prize
Moriyama RAIC International Prize awarded every two years for an outstanding building or project
CBC News Posted: Apr 04, 2014 3:50 PM ET Last Updated: Apr 04, 2014 3:50 PM ET
Raymond Moriyama, seen in Ottawa in 2009, has established a biennial, $100,000 international architecture prize to celebrate an outstanding building or project.
Raymond Moriyama, seen in Ottawa in 2009, has established a biennial, $100,000 international architecture prize to celebrate an outstanding building or project. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Celebrated Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama is launching a $100,000 prize this fall that is being billed as one of the largest architectural prizes in the world.
Established jointly with the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Foundation, the Moriyama RAIC International Prize will celebrate an outstanding building or project by an architect, a group of collaborators or an international firm anywhere in the world.
Alternately, the prize could also be awarded to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the field of architecture.
The $100,000 prize will be awarded every two years and will be accompanied by a handcrafted sculpture by Canadian artist Wei Yew — a distinctive trophy that will depict abstractions of the Canadian landscape.
Each winner will be chosen through an open, juried competition.
"My hope is that this prize will raise not only the stature of the RAIC internationally, but also the stature of Canada, and inspire Canadians and Canadian architects to aspire higher," the 84-year-old Moriyama said in a statement.
"Anybody, young or old could apply and have a chance of winning."
Inaugural gala this fall
The Vancouver-born Moriyama made a bequest to the RAIC Foundation to create the prize and organizers aim to raise a $5-million endowment for the honour.
Submissions for the fledgling prize will be accepted until Aug. 1 and the inaugural award gala will take place on Oct. 11 at the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, set to open this fall.
A sidebar to the main prize will also acknowledge the next generation: three students of Canadian architecture schools will be chosen to receive scholarships of $5,000 each based on an essay-writing competition.
A companion of the Order of Canada and one of the country's best-known architects, Moriyama has created innovative projects across the country and abroad, including the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.
Working with his longtime business partner Ted Teshima and others, he also designed Science North in Sudbury, Ont., the Scarborough Civic Centre, the Toronto Reference Library, the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, the National Museum of Saudi Arabia and the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/vi ... useum.html
Treasures from Arab dhow on display at Aga Khan Museum
Ship sank more than 1,000 years ago with its cargo intact. Here’s a look at some of its objects.
White ware cups and stands, Hebei Province, China, ca. 825-50. Some of the most valuable items found on the sunken Dhow, these were highly prized by Chinese aristocrats, who saw them as top-flight finery partially for their resemblance to silver. They represented the pinnacle of technology at the time, having been fired in innovative kilns during the Tang dynasty.
White ware cups and stands, Hebei Province, China, ca. 825-50. Some of the most valuable items found on the sunken Dhow, these were highly prized by Chinese aristocrats, who saw them as top-flight finery partially for their resemblance to silver. They represented the pinnacle of technology at the time, having been fired in innovative kilns during the Tang dynasty.
By: Murray Whyte Visual arts, Published on Thu Dec 18 2014
Sometime in the 9th century, a 17-metre Arab cargo ship headed west from China along the maritime Silk Route went down in shallow water near Indonesia’s Belitung Island. It took more than 1,000 years for it to be found — in this case, by a recreational diver in 1998, whose casual investigation of what appeared to be a lumpy mound of sea floor turned out to be much more than he had bargained for.
When the handful of ceramic trinkets recovered by that diver reached expert hands, it was clear he had stumbled onto a major discovery: the earliest-known Arab dhow (the Arab word for a ship of this kind) ever found, with its complete cargo intact.
The ship’s hold contained some 57,000 pieces, some precious, some commercial, some simply practical, and most of them nicely preserved by their watery tomb. No human remains were found on board — the water is shallow, warm and just a kilometre or so off shore, making escape a not-unlikely outcome for all involved — and the dhow held tight to its bounty for all this time.
Why anyone didn’t come to retrieve its precious things will be forever a mystery, but what it left behind helps give shape to the relationship between two of the dominant dynasties of the time: the Tang in China and the Abbasid Empire, which stretched across North Africa all the way east into modern-day Afghanistan.
The Aga Khan Museum has puts a handful of those things on view, opening a window into a long-lost past. Here’s a look at some key objects.
The Lost Dhow: A Discovery from the Maritime Silk Route continues at the Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr., until April 26.
Treasures from Arab dhow on display at Aga Khan Museum
Ship sank more than 1,000 years ago with its cargo intact. Here’s a look at some of its objects.
White ware cups and stands, Hebei Province, China, ca. 825-50. Some of the most valuable items found on the sunken Dhow, these were highly prized by Chinese aristocrats, who saw them as top-flight finery partially for their resemblance to silver. They represented the pinnacle of technology at the time, having been fired in innovative kilns during the Tang dynasty.
White ware cups and stands, Hebei Province, China, ca. 825-50. Some of the most valuable items found on the sunken Dhow, these were highly prized by Chinese aristocrats, who saw them as top-flight finery partially for their resemblance to silver. They represented the pinnacle of technology at the time, having been fired in innovative kilns during the Tang dynasty.
By: Murray Whyte Visual arts, Published on Thu Dec 18 2014
Sometime in the 9th century, a 17-metre Arab cargo ship headed west from China along the maritime Silk Route went down in shallow water near Indonesia’s Belitung Island. It took more than 1,000 years for it to be found — in this case, by a recreational diver in 1998, whose casual investigation of what appeared to be a lumpy mound of sea floor turned out to be much more than he had bargained for.
When the handful of ceramic trinkets recovered by that diver reached expert hands, it was clear he had stumbled onto a major discovery: the earliest-known Arab dhow (the Arab word for a ship of this kind) ever found, with its complete cargo intact.
The ship’s hold contained some 57,000 pieces, some precious, some commercial, some simply practical, and most of them nicely preserved by their watery tomb. No human remains were found on board — the water is shallow, warm and just a kilometre or so off shore, making escape a not-unlikely outcome for all involved — and the dhow held tight to its bounty for all this time.
Why anyone didn’t come to retrieve its precious things will be forever a mystery, but what it left behind helps give shape to the relationship between two of the dominant dynasties of the time: the Tang in China and the Abbasid Empire, which stretched across North Africa all the way east into modern-day Afghanistan.
The Aga Khan Museum has puts a handful of those things on view, opening a window into a long-lost past. Here’s a look at some key objects.
The Lost Dhow: A Discovery from the Maritime Silk Route continues at the Aga Khan Museum, 77 Wynford Dr., until April 26.