An unlikely art pilgrimage | Notes from the Islamic Arts Biennale 2025
The HinduIn a way, it is a transaction between two terminals. World’s oldest diamond With Julian Raby, the affable former director of the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian, as lead curator, the biennale inevitably throws up some important questions. Amin Jaffer, one of the biennale’s artistic directors and director also of the Al Thani Collection, creates one of the highlights in a section titled ‘Al Mukhtani’, that features precious objects from Qatar’s ruling family. Two interesting contemporary insertions making use of Islamic symbols include Asif Khan’s Glass Quran, a highly delicate sculpture composed of 604 inscribed glass pieces placed one upon the other, rendering the holy book iconic. The various copies of the Quran on view represent an extraordinary variety of calligraphic styles and texts, and reaffirm how the holy book has time and again served as an inspiration for art.
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