Recognizing the Arts of Islam in Switzerland and Beyond
I am very pleased to introduce this publication, which presents fascinating case studies and recent research results on collecting, displaying and appropriating Islamic art and architecture during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. All contributions of this volume were originally presented at the international conference A lâOrientale in May 2017, organized within the framework of the SNSF project âMudejarismo and Moorish Revival in Europeâ directed by Francine Giese at the University of Zurich. It has been an honor to host a part of the conference at the Rietberg Museum. Our institution is owned by the City of Zurich and Switzerlandâs only museum for non-Western art. It houses an internationally renowned collection of Asian, African and South American artefacts, including some excellent miniature paintings from the Persian Safavid and Indian Mughal periods, as well as several Qajar textiles and costumes.
For the first time ever, the conferenceâs round table, organized by Francine Giese, Mercedes Volait and Ariane Varela Braga, brought together the directors of four of the most important museums and museum departments for Islamic art in EuropeâStefan Weber from the Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin, Kjeld von Folsach from the David Collection in Copenhagen, Yannick Lintz from the Louvre in Paris, and Tim Stanley from the Victoria and Albert Museum in Londonâand it certainly comes without saying that this meeting in Zurich therefore was of major significance for the Rietberg Museum as well. Represented by our curator of Islamic art, Axel Langer, we participated and contributed to the fruitful discussions that came up during the round table on the first day and continued during the following two days of the conference. It has been a true pleasure to realize that Zurich has become a significant center for Islamic Art History capable of attracting experts from all over the world. Our collaborations with the Department of Art History at the University of Zurich, and especially with Francine Gieseâs team, allowed us to support and promote this hitherto underrepresented field of study here in Zurich. I hope that in the future the city and its university will stay important references for studies in Islamic art history, and that all the efforts made in the past years will eventually contribute to a better understanding and recognition of Islamic arts in Switzerland.
Zurich, June 2019
Albert Lutz, Director of the Rietberg Museum