Heritage
A selection of reports on the heritage projects we have supported and funded in the field of Islamic Art, Heritage and Culture since we were founded in 1987
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Gaza: Art History & Lost Monuments – A new podcast with Leena Ghannam
Join Leena Ghannam as she walks us through an often unfamiliar aspect of Gaza: its art, architecture, and monuments. Listen in as she takes us through mermaid monuments and golden markets, from temples of Aphrodite to masterpieces of modern art, exploring from the conquests of Alexander until the recent annihilation of many of these precious sites. Hear a side of Gaza we don't often hear: creation, beyond destruction. See Leena's research on Google Arts [...]
West Asian Weaving – A new podcast with Nour Hage
Join Nour Hage as she weaves a story of textiles in West Asia, from bridal practices, to talismanic symbols, to Nour's own work as an artist. Listen as she discusses her work on Leighton House's recent Kheit exhibition, as part of our Hands On Islamic Art project which works to engage the UK [...]
Hands On Islamic Art – Kettle’s Yard
Congratulations to one of our 2023 Hands On Islamic Art grantees: Kettle's Yard, Cambridge. About the project: The project links the community of women at Corona House (a local housing organisation for vulnerable women at risk of homelessness) with Kettle’s Yard’s Material Power exhibition. The Cambridge museum's exhibitionexplores the historical life [...]
Delicious Delicacies – A new podcast with Nawal Nasrallah
Join Nawal Nasrallah for a delectable dive into the world of Medieval North African cooking. Learn the connection between ostrich eggs and eggplants, how we have been stuffing birds wrong this whole time, and the brilliant historical stories behind these recipes. Listen as Nawal discusses her work translating centuries-old [...]
Rashid Al-Din : Agent and Mediator of Cultural Exchanges in Ilkhanid Iran
Rashid al-Din (1274-1318), physician and powerful minister at the court of the Ilkhans, was a key figure in the cosmopolitan milieu in Iran under Mongol rule. He set up an area in the vicinity of the court where philosophers, doctors, astronomers, and historians from different parts of Eurasia lived together, [...]
Vernacular Architecture of the Western Sahara in Egypt: Al- Dakhlah Oasis
The Barakat Trust gave a grant to Dalia Nabil Aly Abdul-Ghany who wanted to study elements that shaped the physical forms of the medieval towns of al-Qasr and Balat on the urban and interior architectural level, learn more about their qualities of living that they provided to the local community [...]
The Yezidis: The History of a Community, Culture and Religion
Yezidism is a fascinating part of the rich cultural mosaic of the Middle East. The Yezidi faith emerged for the first time in the twelfth century in the Kurdish mountains of northern Iraq. The religion, which has become notorious for its associations with 'devil worship', is in fact an intricate [...]
Glass conservation in Egypt
In 2010 the Barakat Trust endowed a grant to Abdelrazek Mabrouk Elnaggar to support his travels to an important conservation conference in Istanbul, Turkey (IIC Congress,2010) where he presented his work on conserving Egyptian glass using laser cleaning. Abdelrazek is a pioneer in using this revolutionary new method in [...]
International Training Programme at the British Museum 2010
In 2010 the Barakat Trust endowed Hemmat Moustafa Salem with a grant which enabled here to come to London to attend a five week training course at the British Museum entitled the International Training Programme. This was not something new to Hemmat who has extensive experience in the arts being [...]
Imperial Women in Mughal India: The Piety and Patronage of Jahanara Begum
At the height of the Mughal Empire's wealth and power, Jahanara Begum, a 17 year old princess, became the head of the imperial harem. Imperial Women in Mughal India shows how this unmarried princess was able to transcend the customary and religious restrictions imposed on her gender, and make an [...]