From Cordoba to Samarquand: Masterpieces from the New Islamic Art Museum at Doha

This book accompanies an exhibition presenting the architects' models of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar and a selection of the future museum's masterpieces. It contains information about the project from unpublished interviews with the architects Jean-Michel Wilmotte and Ieoh Ming Pei, along with an essay on Islamic art and the history of this rich collection by Sabiah el-Kemir, who heads the museum project for Qatar, and entries about the 42 selected works.

The objects chosen for this exhibition aim to show the spirit of the Doha collection which contains thousands of pieces from the 7th century to the present day. As the collection is not yet on public display, the exhibition offers a preview of the future Doha museum. The works are varied and the scope of the exhibition is vast in time and space: the oldest piece date from the 9th century and the most recent from the 17th.

Originating from Spain, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran, India and Central Asia, the collection testifies to the richness of the immense Muslim territory which stretched from Cordoba in the west to Samarqand in the east. The catalogue is illustrated with a wide variety of objects, all with the same aesthetic, using ceramics, metal, glass, paper, ivory, gold, emeralds, jade, agate and silk. This set of masterpieces which we now call "Islamic arts" includes everyday utensils which shed light on the cultures of Islam.

While the opening of the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Qatar, is eagerly anticipated, photographs of some of the masterpieces that will be on display may be enjoyed through this book.