TEHRAN -- Artworks created by Sadeq Tirafkan are on display as part of a loan exhibition entitled “Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts” now being held in U.S. museums.

Tirafkan, alongside two other Middle Eastern artists Shahzia Sikander from Pakistan, and Ahmed Mater from Iraq, try to draw inspiration from Islamic culture through interpretations of the theme of “Gifts of Sultan”.  

The Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) will present the showcase from October 23 to January 16 2011, following the Los Angeles Country Museum of Arts, which held the show from June 5 to September 5.

 

The major international loan exhibition assembled objects of art from 40 institutions worldwide for the showcase and presents 200 works of art representing a rich variety of media from collections in the Middle East, Europe, and East Asia.

“ ‘Gifts of the Sultan’ offers a fascinating look at the way the Islamic world represented itself to ‘outsiders’ through the exchange of gifts, whether the purpose was political, personal or pious,” said Gwendolyn H. Goffe, MFAH interim director of MFAH.

The showcase is organized in three broad sections: personal gifts, pious donations, and state and diplomatic gifts.

As Tirafkan mentioned in his personal website, the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha is the next stop for the showcase.

Organized by Los Angeles Country Museum of Arts with support from the MFAH, the showcase spans the eighth through nineteenth centuries.