Emeritus Professor of Eastern Art, University of Oxford, UK
James Allan read his degree in classical Arabic at Oxford, and spent most of his career in the Ashmolean Museum as curator of the Islamic collections and latterly Keeper of Eastern Art. He also set up an Inter-faith Exhibition Service. For the last 6 years before his retirement in 2012 he continued to teach Islamic art in the Khalili Research Centre. He leads tours in the Middle East, and has published numerous articles and books on Islamic art, his most recent book being, “The art and architecture of Twelver Shi’ism: Iraq, Iran and the Indian Subcontinent”.
