The Sufis, Animals and Mystical Islamic Art

June 28, 2009

"Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam" is a new exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. It features some very beautiful, mesmerizing works of art, many of which were inspired by animals, sacred geometry and nature themes. The three often intertwine within the artifacts, as you can see in some of these images.

The exhibit runs through September 6. For more information, please visit the Brooklyn Museum.

(Images: Eight-Pointed Star Tile with a Gazelle
Iran, probably Kashan, probably 13th–14th century
Ceramic; fritware, luster painted
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

An Emaciated Horse
India, Mughal or Deccan, mid-17th century
Ink and light color wash on paper
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. George Dupont Pratt

Bowl of Reflections
Iran, probably Kashan, early 13th century
Ceramic; fritware, painted in luster and blue over an opaque white glaze
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc.

Prayer Stone 5, 2009
Pouran Jinchi (Iranian, b. 1959)
Charcoal, pencil, ink on Okawara paper
Courtesy of the artist and Art Projects International, New York

Kashkūl, or Beggar’s Bowl, with Portrait of Dervishes and a Mounted Falconer
Iran, A.H. 1280/1880 C.E.
Coco-de-mer shell and chain
Brooklyn Museum, Henry L. Batterman Fund

Wine Bowl Inscribed with the Names of the Twelve Shica Imams
Iran, Safavid, late 16th–early 17th century
Copper; cast, raised, and turned, then tinned; engraved and inlaid with black composites
Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mrs. Charles K. Wilkinson in memory of her husband

A Family of Dervishes
Possibly Antoin Sevruguin (Armenian-Georgian, 1830s–1933)
Iran, late 19th–early 20th century
Silver albumen photograph
Brooklyn Museum, Purchase gift of Leona Soudavar in memory of Ahmad Soudava)

Whether you see the world through the eyes of a Sufi, a Christian, an agnostic, or from some other perspective, I hope that you will also enjoy the video, accompanied by Sufi music.