Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld

Cultures in Conversation

From stunning court fashion and intriguing astrolabes to beautiful bowls and candlesticks, immerse yourself in six centuries of Islamic artisanship.

Discover how each precious and rare object is a 'cultural conversation', with its own unique story which always starts and ends in a different place.

And those cultural conversations continue today, with objects and stories from the Multaka-Oxford volunteers and the local community — including an interactive digital programme where you can design your own Islamic-inspired patterns.

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Discover objects and stories from the local Oxford community and our Multaka-Oxford team — exclusive to the online gallery.

Click on ... at the bottom right to navigate, view full-screen, or share on social media.

Or just use the < > arrows to stroll through each Gallery.

Your journey starts here.

Exhibition Curator Dr Federica Gigante shares her highlights from the exhibition alongside her colleagues Rana Ibrahim and Jonathan Fruchter from the Multaka-Oxford team.

The Basement Gallery set up for lectures.

Events

From Medieval Board games to pinhole cameras and a live Symposium with The Courtauld: take a look at our online events.

Islamic Metalwork Handbag from The Courtauld

Symposium - Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld

Watch The Courtauld team as they go behind the scenes of their UK touring exhibition.

Astrolabes from the History of Science Museum

Browse our Astrolabe catalogue online.

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Get involved

From volunteering to donations and joining our mailing list, there are plenty of ways to support your Museum. Find out more.

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Browse the shop

Why not pick up something to remember your visit in our online shop. Take a look at the Periodic Table collection while you're there.

Multaka Volunteer Marriam drinking from her Healing Bowl, a gift from her father

Community conversations

From online design programmes to personal stories of treasured possessions, discover twenty-first century experiences with Islamic metalwork in the community.

Read inspiring stories

'Maths is beautiful and fun'

"After seeing the objects, I couldn't NOT see the beautiful patterns and the rich symmetries ... this inspired me to write a computer program ... with just a few brush strokes, you can create beautiful, Islamic-inspired wallpaper patterns."

Jonathan Fruchter, Multaka-Oxford volunteer and post-graduate maths student

Create your own patterns

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Meet the Multaka-Oxford team

Discover the story of the Multaka-Oxford volunteers and their contribution to visitor experience at the History of Science and Pitt Rivers Museums.

Meet the Multaka-Oxford team

Al Khwarizmi pioneering Persian mathematician and astronomer

Maths and symmetries explained

Mutalka volunteer and maths postgraduate student Jonathan Fruchter was inspired to create this short animated film.

Watch pioneering Persian polymath Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī explain symmetries in Islamic design.

Watch the video

The Courtauld on Precious and Rare

Dr. Alexandra Gerstein, The Courtauld Gallery’s Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts, gives an insight into The Courtauld Metalwork Bag and the inspiration behind the Precious and Rare touring exhibition.

Watch the video

Community conversations: Iraqi Women Art and War

Rana Ibrahim founded Iraqi Women Art and War (IWAW) to capture oral-history stories in an artistic way from women before, during, and after the war in 2003. Rana shared some videos with us for our online exhibition.

Find out more about IWAW