What you can learn about Islam from the Dallas Museum of Art's new Keir Collection of Islamic Art

DALLAS OBSERVER
By Diamond Victoria

Much of the art on display at the DMA takes the shape of animals and humans, like this oil lamp in the form of a fabulous beast. Courtesy Dallas Museum of Art

DALLAS---This week, the Dallas Museum of Art opened its Keir Collection Gallery, and in doing so it's exhibiting more than the third largest collection of Islamic art in North America: It's also exhibiting a great sense of timing. Islam is one of the most frequently maligned religions today, and now DMA visitors can get a better understanding of it through more than 150 pieces of art reflecting the rich and unique history of Islamic cultures. Noted art collector and Hungarian-born Edmund de Unger, who praised Islamic art for its warmth of color, delicacy and boldness of design, cultivated the Keir Collection over five decades and cemented it as one of the world’s leading private collections of Islamic art. [link]