Aga Khan Museum
Encyclopedia
The Aga Khan Museum is dedicated to the preservation of Muslim arts
and culture
. It is to be situated in Toronto
, Canada
and is expected to open in 2013. The museum
is an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network
. It will house collections of Islamic art
and heritage
, including artefacts from the private collections of His Highness the Aga Khan
, the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London
, and Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan.
and the park in which the two will be situated, was performed by Canadian Prime Minister
Stephen Harper
and the Aga Khan on May 28, 2010. The establishment of the three projects had previously been announced on October 8, 2002 by the Aga Khan Development Network
(AKDN). Situated along Wynford Drive adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway
in Toronto, the Museum is expected to open in 2013.
winner Fumihiko Maki
. The 10,000 square-metre structure will be set within formal gardens and surrounded by a large park designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. The extensive site with be shared with a new Ismaili Centre
designed by the famous Indian architect Charles Correa
.
communities, past and present. Artefacts will include ceramics
, metalwork, and paintings covering all periods of Islamic history. Manuscripts in the collection will include the earliest known copy of Avicenna
’s Qanun fi’l-Tibb
(The Canon of Medicine
) dated 1052. A music programme is planned, which will work to expand knowledge of the traditional music of Asia
and the Islamic world, as well as their contemporary expression.
The museum will become a repository of historical materials related to the Ismaili
community and house research programmes related to each one of the aspects of its institutional mission. It will also provide a space for permanent exchanges between the Islamic and the Western world
s on educational, cultural and socioeconomic issues.
The collection, which comprises some 1,000 pieces, includes several superb examples of Qur'an
manuscripts that demonstrate the variety of script, media and decorative styles that evolved in the Muslim world. Among them, an eighth century North Africa
n folio demonstrates the earliest style of kufic script written on parchment
. A page from the well known Blue Qur'an provides an example of gold kufic script on indigo-dyed parchment. The Blue Qur'an is considered one of the most extraordinary Qur'an manuscripts ever created; its origins are 9th-tenth century North African, and it was likely created for the Fatimid
imam-caliphs ruling from Qayrawan.
The exhibits have received wide international acclaim. The exhibit conveys both din and duniya, which can be translated as ‘Spirit & Life’ — the religious and secular aspects of life which are inextricably linked in Muslim cultures. The first exhibitions were organized in two parts: The Word of God consisting of sacred texts and related objects and The Power of the Sovereign reflecting Muslim courts and their figures. More recent exhibitions have been organized as The Word of God and The Route of the Travellers showing the geographic breadth of the Islamic world.
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
and culture
Muslim culture
Islamic culture is a term primarily used in secular academia to describe the cultural practices common to historically Islamic peoples. As the religion of Islam originated in 7th century Arabia, the early forms of Muslim culture were predominantly Arab...
. It is to be situated in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and is expected to open in 2013. The museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
is an initiative of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network . It focuses on the revitalization of communities in the Muslim world—physical, social, cultural, and economic...
, an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network
Aga Khan Development Network
The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies that seek to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East...
. It will house collections of Islamic art
Islamic art
Islamic art encompasses the visual arts produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by or ruled by culturally Islamic populations...
and heritage
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
, including artefacts from the private collections of His Highness the Aga Khan
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
, the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan.
Foundation ceremony
The foundation ceremony of the Aga Khan Museum, together with the adjacent Ismaili Centre, TorontoIsmaili Centre, Toronto
The Ismaili Centre, Toronto — currently under development — will be the sixth such centre in the world. Situated in a park that it shares with the Aga Khan Museum adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto, the Centre will represent the permanent presence of the Ismaili Muslim...
and the park in which the two will be situated, was performed by Canadian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper is the 22nd and current Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Conservative Party. Harper became prime minister when his party formed a minority government after the 2006 federal election...
and the Aga Khan on May 28, 2010. The establishment of the three projects had previously been announced on October 8, 2002 by the Aga Khan Development Network
Aga Khan Development Network
The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies that seek to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East...
(AKDN). Situated along Wynford Drive adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...
in Toronto, the Museum is expected to open in 2013.
Architecture
Architecturally, the museum is expected to be of international caliber, a design of Pritzker PrizePritzker Prize
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually by the Hyatt Foundation to honour "a living architect whose built work demonstrates a combination of those qualities of talent, vision and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built...
winner Fumihiko Maki
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect and currently teaching at Keio University SFC.- Biography :After studying at the University of Tokyo he moved to the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and then to Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1956, he took a post as assistant professor of...
. The 10,000 square-metre structure will be set within formal gardens and surrounded by a large park designed by landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. The extensive site with be shared with a new Ismaili Centre
Ismaili Centre
The Ismaili Centres are symbolic markers of the permanent presence of the Ismaili Muslim community in the countries and regions in which they are established. Each building is architecturally unique, and incorporates spaces for social and cultural gatherings, intellectual engagement and reflection,...
designed by the famous Indian architect Charles Correa
Charles Correa
Charles Correa is an Indian architect, planner and activist.-Early life:Charles Correa was born in Hyderabad, India...
.
Collection
The museum will be dedicated to the acquisition, preservation, display and interpretation of artefacts relating to the intellectual, cultural, artistic and religious traditions of MuslimMuslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
communities, past and present. Artefacts will include ceramics
Ceramic art
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
, metalwork, and paintings covering all periods of Islamic history. Manuscripts in the collection will include the earliest known copy of Avicenna
Avicenna
Abū ʿAlī al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sīnā , commonly known as Ibn Sīnā or by his Latinized name Avicenna, was a Persian polymath, who wrote almost 450 treatises on a wide range of subjects, of which around 240 have survived...
’s Qanun fi’l-Tibb
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine is an encyclopedia of Galenic medicine in five books compiled by Ibn Sīnā and completed in 1025. It presents a clear and organized summary of all the medical knowledge of the time...
(The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine
The Canon of Medicine is an encyclopedia of Galenic medicine in five books compiled by Ibn Sīnā and completed in 1025. It presents a clear and organized summary of all the medical knowledge of the time...
) dated 1052. A music programme is planned, which will work to expand knowledge of the traditional music of Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Islamic world, as well as their contemporary expression.
The museum will become a repository of historical materials related to the Ismaili
Ismaili
' is a branch of Shia Islam. It is the second largest branch of Shia Islam, after the Twelvers...
community and house research programmes related to each one of the aspects of its institutional mission. It will also provide a space for permanent exchanges between the Islamic and the Western world
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
s on educational, cultural and socioeconomic issues.
The collection, which comprises some 1,000 pieces, includes several superb examples of Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
manuscripts that demonstrate the variety of script, media and decorative styles that evolved in the Muslim world. Among them, an eighth century North Africa
North Africa
North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
n folio demonstrates the earliest style of kufic script written on parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
. A page from the well known Blue Qur'an provides an example of gold kufic script on indigo-dyed parchment. The Blue Qur'an is considered one of the most extraordinary Qur'an manuscripts ever created; its origins are 9th-tenth century North African, and it was likely created for the Fatimid
Fatimid
The Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
imam-caliphs ruling from Qayrawan.
European tour
While a permanent home is being built for the collection, selected items have been on tour in Europe. Exhibitions have taken place at the following institutions:- Palazzo della PilottaPalazzo della PilottaThe Palazzo della Pilotta is a complex of edifices in the historical centre of Parma, in northern Italy. Its name derives from the game of pelota.-History:...
in ParmaParmaParma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
- March 31, 2007 - June 3, 2007
- Ismaili CentreIsmaili CentreThe Ismaili Centres are symbolic markers of the permanent presence of the Ismaili Muslim community in the countries and regions in which they are established. Each building is architecturally unique, and incorporates spaces for social and cultural gatherings, intellectual engagement and reflection,...
in London
- Ismaili Centre
- July 14, 2007 - August 31, 2007
- LouvreLouvreThe Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
in ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- Louvre
- October 5, 2007 - January 7, 2008
- Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
- Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon
- March 14, 2008 - July 27, 2008
- CaixaForum MadridCaixaForum MadridCaixaForum Madrid is a post-modern art gallery in the centre of Madrid, Spain. It is sponsored by the Catalan-Balearic bank la Caixa and located next to the Paseo del Prado at number 36....
- CaixaForum Madrid
- opened June 4, 2009
- CaixaForum BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
- CaixaForum Barcelona
- October 9, 2009 - January 17, 2010
- Martin-Gropius-Bau in BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
- Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin
- March 17, 2010 - June 6, 2010
- Sakıp Sabancı MuseumSakip Sabanci MuseumThe Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum is a private fine arts museum in Istanbul, Turkey, dedicated to calligraphic art, religious and state documents, as well as paintings of the Ottoman era. The museum was founded by Sakıp Sabancı, and was opened in June 2002...
in IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
- Sakıp Sabancı Museum
- November 5, 2010 - March 13, 2011
- The HermitageHermitage MuseumThe State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
in St. Petersburg
- The Hermitage
- December 8, 2011 - February end, 2012
The exhibits have received wide international acclaim. The exhibit conveys both din and duniya, which can be translated as ‘Spirit & Life’ — the religious and secular aspects of life which are inextricably linked in Muslim cultures. The first exhibitions were organized in two parts: The Word of God consisting of sacred texts and related objects and The Power of the Sovereign reflecting Muslim courts and their figures. More recent exhibitions have been organized as The Word of God and The Route of the Travellers showing the geographic breadth of the Islamic world.