Exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art hopes to set the record straight when it comes to Islamic art

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
By Lee Lawrence

Carved crystal ewer from the late 10th-early 11th century. Photo: The Keir Collection of Islamic Art on loan to the Dallas Museum

TEXAS---First came the headlines: One of the world’s leading private collections of Islamic art was headed to the Dallas Museum of Art as a 15-year, renewable loan. It was a coup. After the death of collector Edmund de Unger (1918-2011), almost 2,000 of the seventh- through 19th-century works he acquired over some 50 years seemed destined for Berlin’s venerable Pergamon Museum. But his heirs and the museum parted ways, and the Keir collection (named after De Unger’s London home) veered west to Texas, thanks greatly to the efforts of Sabiha Al Khemir, the DMA’s senior adviser for Islamic Art. [link]


Dallas Museum of Art: "Spirit and Matter: Masterpieces From the Keir Collection of Islamic Art" (Ends July 31, 2016); 1717 North Harwood, Dallas, TX; (214)922-1200; dma.org