Why a Mosque Appears at Korea’s National Museum: First Permanent Islamic Gallery
Creatrip Team
4 months ago
The National Museum of Korea opened its first permanent Islamic gallery, “Islamic Art, A Journey of Radiant Light,” featuring 83 works on loan from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. Highlights include a 16–17th century Safavid royal carpet, a large Quran manuscript from the 7th–8th century Umayyad period, late 19th-century Ottoman jeweled writing tools, and Iznik tiles. The show emphasizes key features of Islamic art—avoidance of figurative imagery due to prohibition of idol worship, leading to geometric patterns, arabesque motifs, and developed Arabic calligraphy. The gallery space reproduces mosque elements (mosque), a central courtyard (midan/inner courtyard), and a 14th-century mihrab stone slab (mihrab) marking the direction of Mecca for prayer. Curators note Islamic civilization’s wide geographic reach and its role in east–west cultural exchange, such as adoption of lustre pottery techniques and Chinese-influenced Iznik ceramics. The exhibition runs through October 11 next year.
