Amid an anti-muslim mood, a museum appeals for understanding

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Farah Nayeri

“Albarelli” jars made of enameled ceramic are decorated with an interlacing pattern of flower stems and foliage and incorporate the the historical emblem of Florence. Credit: Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

FLORENCE, Italy — They were made in Syria six centuries ago, and stand elegantly in a row of vitrines at the Uffizi Gallery here: five ceramic jars that once contained treatments, ointments and scents from the faraway Orient. These “Albarelli” jars are decorated with an interlacing pattern of flower stems and foliage. And at the center of each one is a lily — the historical emblem of Florence. The jars tell the story, in a nutshell, of “Islamic Art and Florence from the Medici to the 20th Century,” an exhibition running through Sept. 23 that maps the long-lasting and reciprocal exchanges between the city and the Islamic world. [More]