For the first time, an extensive collection of artefacts from the Islamic world amassed by the acclaimed designer and leading figure of the Arts and Crafts movement William Morris is on public display. The exhibition, held at the William Morris Gallery in east London, opened on 9 November and will run until 9 March 2025.

In 1879, at the height of his career, Morris delivered a lecture to the Trades Guild of Learning at the Co-operative Institute in central London, in which he stated: “To us pattern designers, Persia has become holy land, for there in the process of time our art was perfected, and thence above all places it spread to cover for a while the world, east and west.”

However, according to the exhibition’s co-curator Rowan Bain, the influence of Persian and Ottoman art – particularly rug weaving and decorative tiling – on Morris’s own work has been largely ignored by scholars.

“Morris is one of these people who had written a lot about his politics, his poetry, and so on, so it did feel strange that this aspect of his work had not been fully explored, given the wealth of knowledge about Morris,” she says.

“A lot of the study has been from the perspective of 19th-century art history. So people may not have had the kind of expertise or interest in Islamic art to look at Morris through this lens.”

The new exhibition, which is accompanied by an illustrated book titled Tulips and Peacocks, examines the powerful influence of Islamic art on the designer and the broader Arts and Crafts Movement.

It also brings items from Morris’s private collection, which have long been dispersed across numerous institutions, together for the first time in more than a century. Examples include a 17th-century illuminated manuscript of the Iranian epic poem Shahnameh, 16th-century Ottoman tile panels from Iznik and Damascus, and two 13th-century star tiles from the Emamzadeh Yahya shrine in Iran, the tomb of a sixth-generation descendant of the prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hasan ibn Ali.

Despite his interest in Iranian and Ottoman design, Morris never travelled east of Italy and built his collection with the help of European art and antique dealers.

“He would have purchased these items from Paris or London. In 19th-century London there was a big influx of art works from Iran and from the fading Ottoman Empire,” says Qaisra M Khan, also a co-curator of the exhibition. “This was driven by a lack of controls on the export of items and a real interest in the region, particularly among academics.”

That lack of protection meant that throughout the 19th century, some historical and religious sites were almost completely stripped of their riches, including the precious lustre tilework from Emamzadeh Yahya, which began to appear in European capitals and private collections such as Morris’s.

Morris decorated his Hammersmith home, Kelmscott House, with many of his collected artefacts. Much of his dining room ceiling and wall was covered by a spectacular 17th century Iranian carpet, which at more than 15 square meters was too large to include in the exhibition and can be seen on permanent display at the V&A.

Morris hand wrote and illuminated a copy of Robert FitzGerald’s English translation of The Rubáiyát by the 11th-century Iranian poet, Omar Khayyám, which is on display. He worked on the project, which took over a year to complete, with his friends the Pre-Raphaelite artists Edward Burne-Jones and Charles Fairfax Murray.

Bain also sees evidence of Turkish influence in Morris’s famous Medway indigo design which features a wild tulip, a motif that can be seen in many of his textiles.

“The tulip has a very strong resonance with Turkey and Ottoman design,” Bain says.

Ottoman influences are also present in the woven silks produced at Morris & Co’s Merton Abbey factory in Surrey during the latter part of the designer’s career. Bain points to Granada, his first attempt at producing velvet brocade using metallic thread, as an example.

“It’s always been understood that he was informed by Italian velvets,” she says. “But now we know that he also owned Ottoman velvets and by looking at these we can begin to understand other influences on Morris’ production.”

Among the Ottoman covers and throws on display is a 17th-century velvet hanging from Bursa, Turkey, which was used to cover Morris’s coffin at his funeral in 1896. Now owned by the Birmingham Museums Trust, this is the first time that the piece has been on public view.

“Morris is always seen as this kind of quintessentially British designer who is looking to flora and fauna in the British countryside, which is very much true,” says Bain. “But he had a very extensive understanding of textiles and design practice from different regions across the world. We hope this exhibition will broaden our understanding of this.”

William Morris & Art from the Islamic World runs until 9 March 2025 at the William Morris Gallery. Entry is free.

Source: Hyphen 

The Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies is the central forum for the study of Islam and Muslim societies at Stanford University. We support research on Islam and Muslim societies across the globe, coordinate coursework across disciplines, and aim to deepen public understanding of Islam through events, digital media initiatives, and K-12 outreach.

Mission

We have three goals that focus on research, teaching, and public outreach:

• We support interdisciplinary research and scholarship on Islamic cultures and societies across the globe.  Working within and across academic disciplines and world regions, our affiliates explore the religion of Islam in all its internal complexity and in diverse social and cultural contexts.  We host lectures and conferences that advance scholarship in the field and support undergraduate and graduate student research.
• We coordinate and promote interdisciplinary coursework in the field of Islamic Studies. To enrich Stanford students’ exposure to the study of Islam at all levels, we support the academic pursuits of undergraduates and graduates and administer student grants for fieldwork, advanced language training and internships. For undergraduates seeking a Minor in Global Studies, we coordinate the specialization in Islamic Studies.
• We actively engage multiple audiences with the goal of deepening public understanding of Islam and Muslim societies.  Through our support for public lectures, artistic performances, exhibitions, and our online resources for K-12 teachers and students, we serve as a resource for the public and educators alike.

Supporting Research and Teaching in Islamic Studies at Stanford

Working within and across academic disciplines and world regions, our faculty explore the religion of Islam in all its internal complexity and in diverse social and cultural contexts.  To enrich Stanford students’ exposure to the study of Islam at all levels, we promote coursework, administer grants, and coordinate an undergraduate specialization as part of Global Studies minor.

We support Stanford students’ research, language training and internships pertaining to the study of Islam and Muslim societies. Latest grant reports are featured below. Please browse our field notes archive for other reports. To apply, please see undergraduate and graduate student grants.

Institutional Partners

As an institutional member of the following professional organizations, we encourage our faculty and students to take advantage of unique membership privileges.

• American Association of Teachers of Turkic Languages (AATT)
• American Institute of Afghan Studies (AIAS)
• American Research Institute in Turkey (ARIT)
• Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA )
• The Middle East Studies Association (MESA)
• The American Academic Research Institute in Iraq (TAARI)
• Association of Analytic Learning for Islam and Muslim Societies (AALIMS)

Stanford Partners and Resources

We are delighted to work with the following academic units, university offices, libraries and student groups in enhancing Islamic Studies at Stanford.

Departments

• Religious Studies Department
• History Department
• Comparative Literature
• Art and Art History
• Political Science
• Anthropology
• Stanford Language Center

Centers, Pograms, Institutes

• Stanford Global Studies
• Stanford Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies
• Mediterranean Studies Forum
• Iranian Studies
• Center for South Asia
• Center for African Studies
• Global Internships Program
• Arab Reform and Democracy
• The Europe Center
• Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity
• Clayman Institute for Gender Research
• Stanford Humanities Center
• Stanford Arts Institute
• Bing Overseas Studies Program

Stanford Libraries and Archives

• Cecile H. Green Library – Islamic and Middle Eastern Collection
• Hoover Archives and Library Collections
• Lane Medical Library – Islamic Manuscripts 

Undergraduate Student Grants

2016-17 The Abbasi Program Undergraduate Student Grants for the Study of Islam and Muslim Societies
Application cycle will start on January 1, 2017. Application deadline is Wednesday, March 23, 2017.

We invite proposals from continuing undergraduate and co-term students for projects pertaining to the study of Islam and Muslim societies. Projects may focus on any historical period and on Muslim-majority or Muslim–minority contexts.  Projects may be pursued during the 2016 Summer Quarter or the 2016-17 academic year.  Awards will be up to $4,000 and made on a competitive basis. Applicants are encouraged to apply for matching funds from other Stanford units or external agencies.

The following types of projects are supported:

1. Intensive language study

The proposed course of language study must be integral to the applicant’s academic or professional development. Priority will be given to training in languages not offered on campus or for advanced training in languages where the student has exhausted campus resources.

2. Fieldwork or Advanced Research Projects

Priority will be given to projects that may lead to a senior or honors thesis.

3. Community or Public Service Internships in the U.S. and Abroad

Funds may be used to fully or partially defray the costs of a relevant internship opportunity in a local, national, or international organization.

4. Study Abroad Programs 

Funds may be used to fully or partially defray the costs of attending an overseas study program with an academic focus on Islam and Muslim societies.

The grant projects can be conducted in the United States or in a country not included on the U.S. State Department’s Travel Warning list.

Leadership

• Director: Shahzad Bashir

Email: sbashir@stanford.edu

• Associate Director: Burçak Keskin-Kozat

Office: Encina Hall West, Room 212

Phone: (650) 736-8169

Email: burcak@stanford.edu

Contacts

• Address: Stanford University, Stanford Global Studies Division, 417 Galvez Mall/Encina Hall West, Rm. 212 Stanford, CA 94305, USA
• Phone: +1 650 736 8169
• Fax: +1 650 723 3010
• Email: abbasiprogram@stanford.edu
• Website: https://islamicstudies.stanford.edu/