Patterns and Script as Infinite Cosmos: Encountering Islamic Art
Creatrip Team
3 months ago
The National Museum of Korea opened its first permanent "Islamic Gallery," displaying 83 works on loan from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, spanning the 7th–19th centuries. Because Islamic art forbids depicting God and living beings, artists developed dense arabesque patterns (ornamental motifs) and elevated calligraphy—especially Qur'an manuscripts written in scripts like Kufic and Thuluth—into central artistic forms. Highlights include a 17th-century Safavid throne carpet featuring endlessly repeating saz leaves and vines symbolizing divine infinity, early Qur'an folios from the 7th century, a monumental 15th-century Timurid Qur'an, and technical instruments such as a 14th-century astrolabe used to find Mecca (the direction for prayer). The gallery recreates architectural atmospheres with a dome roof and geometric window screens (mashrabiya) and even a Damascus noble’s reception room, showing how religious practice, science, and domestic art converge in Islamic culture. The exhibition runs through Oct 11 next year and is free to enter.
