This illustrated talk will explore the story and vision behind Wonders of Creation: Art, Science, and Innovation in the Islamic World, a touring exhibition organised by The San Diego Museum of Art and which was on view in San Diego and at The McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, in 2024–25. Wonders of Creation explored intersections of art and science in Islamic intellectual and visual culture from the 8th century to the present through the lens of “wonder” defined by an influential 13th-century Islamic cosmography describing the universe. Written in Arabic and Persian by Zakariyya ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini and entitled The Wonders of Creation and the Rarities of Existence, this text catalogues the marvels of the universe in a single, richly illustrated book. Its framework inspired an innovative platform for the presentation of over 200 works of Islamic material culture, including manuscripts, astrolabes, magic bowls, precious stones, lustre ware, architectural elements, and contemporary art. Following the cosmography’s narrative through the celestial and terrestrial realms, topics such as astronomy, astrology, natural history, alchemy, medicine, and geometry were explored through objects from Spain, North Africa, and the Middle East to Central, South, and Southeast Asia and the modern diaspora. In this talk, Ladan will share an overview of the exhibition and consider how its conceptual framework might serve as a methodology for representing Islamic art and material culture on a wider scale.
Ladan Akbarnia (PhD, Harvard University) is newly-appointed Head of Curatorial and Professor of Islamic World Collections at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Museum’s first curator of Islamic art. Her research, exhibitions, and publications address cross-cultural transmissions in Iran, Central Asia, and South Asia; Sufism; Persianate drawings; science and craft; contemporary art; and methodologies of museum display. Previously, she was Curator of South Asian and Islamic Art at The San Diego Museum of Art (2019–25), where she was organised Wonders of Creation and accompanying publication; Assistant Keeper & Curator of Islamic Collections and lead curator for the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World at The British Museum (2010–19); Hagop Kevorkian Associate Curator of Islamic Art at the Brooklyn Museum (2007–10), where she reinstalled the Islamic collection and organised Light of the Sufis: The Mystical Arts of Islam. She served as Executive Director of the Iran Heritage Foundation in London (2009–10) and Commissioner of Arts and Culture for San Diego County from 2023–25.
Organised by Dr Jessica Barker, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Art History, The Courtauld, as part of the Medieval Work-in-Progress Series. This series is generously supported by Sam Fogg.
