Chinese Islamic Art: Collections and Connections

• In Event: Sino-Islamic Artistic Exchanges

Abstract

A private collection of Chinese Islamic works of art in multiple media (ceramics, bronze, enamel, glass, etc.) provides us glimpses into the history of intercultural exchange between China and the Muslim world. Examples include objects manufactured in China with Arabic and Persian inscriptions, made for both domestic Chinese Muslim patronage, as well as for export to Muslims abroad. Objects such as blue and white porcelains and bronzes with imperial marks represent the finest material manifestation of the unique, hybrid Chinese Muslim culture that has evolved in China since the Tang dynasty (618-906). Products made in China for Muslim elites overseas are evidence of the centuries-old commerce between the Chinese and Muslim peoples. Both categories relate aspects of the historical connections between civilizations.
Ascertaining the authenticity of antiquities poses a great challenge. Each piece is a mystery, as the individual histories of most objects have been lost to time. We must therefore resort to reasoning by analogy: comparison with similar objects of well-known provenance. The oldest, largest collections of Chinese works in the Muslim world are from the Topkapı Palace, Istanbul, Turkey, and the Sheikh Safī al-Dīn Khānegāh and Shrine, Ardabil, Iran. Because most of the items housed in these collections were acquired not long after they were manufactured in imperial China, and have been kept in a single place for centuries, these establish a reliable standard of provenance. This study includes such comparisons, while also tracing the bidirectional flow of artistic motifs.

Author

• James D. Frankel, Chinese University of Hong Kong