Islamic Middle East: About the Jameel Gallery

The Ardabil Carpet (detail), Iran, 1539-40. Museum no. 272-1893

About the Jameel Gallery (Room 42)

A three-year-long renovation and re-design of the V&A's Islamic Gallery created an outstanding new home for the collection.

The new Jameel Gallery houses over 400 objects, including ceramics, textiles, carpets, metalwork, glass and woodwork, which date from the great days of the Islamic caliphate of the 8th and 9th centuries to the years preceding World War I (1914–18).

The area covered stretches from Spain in the west to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan in the east, taking in important centres of artistic production in the Arab lands, Turkey and Iran.

The highlight of the Jameel Gallery is the Ardabil Carpet, the world's oldest dated carpet and one of the largest, most beautiful and historically important in the world. 

The Jameel Gallery was made possible by generous support from the Jameel family. It is dedicated to the memory of Mr Abdul Latif Jameel, the late founder of the Abdul Latif Jameel Group, and his wife Nafisa, by Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, their son.

Why the Islamic Middle East?

The rapid rise of Islam in the 7th century AD transformed the history of the Middle East. The religion’s founder, the Prophet Muhammad, was a political leader as well as a religious guide, and after his death in 632, his successors established a vast empire. By 750 it stretched from the Atlantic Ocean to the borders of India.

Two hundred years later this single Islamic empire had been replaced by a number of competing states. Despite their rivalries, the Muslim rulers of the time shared many ideas on culture and politics, as well as religion.

This common Islamic heritage was maintained until the 1920s. By then, almost the whole region was divided between European colonial powers and local regimes with a secular outlook.

Throughout this long period Islamic art continued to be produced. It included sophisticated court pieces as well as works of religious art, reflecting Islam’s role both as a religion and a political system.