Lustro e lusso: Islamic Spain exhibition opens at MAO Turin

The MAO Museo d'Arte Orientale in Turin has opened 'Lustro e lusso dalla Spagna islamica' (Luster and Luxury from Islamic Spain), the first result of a collaboration with the Fondazione Bruschettini per l'Arte Islamica e Asiatica in Genoa and other collections. Curated by Filiz Çakır Phillip, a specialist in Islamic art and former curator at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, the exhibition features about thirty objects—carpets, textiles, and ceramics—from the 10th to 16th centuries, sourced from the Fondazione Bruschettini, the Instituto Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid, Palazzo Madama – Museo Civico d'Arte Antica in Turin, and the Galleria Moshe Tabibnia in Milan. The show's subtitle, 'frontiere liquide e mondi in connessione' (liquid borders and connected worlds), reflects the cultural and artisanal permeability between the Arab and Spanish-European worlds. A marble capital from the Umayyad period (second half of the 10th century), originally from Córdoba, opens the exhibition. The project is part of a broader initiative to create closer ties among Mediterranean museums, leading to a larger exhibition planned for October 2023, tracing an ideal itinerary from Tang-dynasty China to the present. A free booklet with contributions from Çakır Phillip, Cristina Maritano, and Alberto Boralevi accompanies the show, which will also host study meetings, conferences, and performances.