"In its breadth and vision Dr Khalili’s magnificent survey of the arts of the Islamic lands must be regarded as one of the outstanding publishing achievements of the century".

Dr Julian Raby, Director, Smithsonian Institution Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Washington DC, in a Presentation Ceremony at the Locarno Suite, British Foreign Office, London,1992.

"His collection is superlative and to have it on permanent display in this country would be phenomenal." "...others such as David Khalili are engaged in a life-long quest to build bridges between world communities through philanthropy... This is philanthropy on a grand scale... He regards himself as the custodian rather than owner of the ancient artefacts..."

Peter Stock of the British Library in an article by Ian Birrell and Robina Gibb, SUNDAY TIMES, 13 September 1992

"Professor Nasser D. Khalili..........one of the world's leading collectors of Japanese art from the Meiji period."

Museums by John Russell Taylor, THE TIMES, 12 November 1994

"At that time we could not have guessed the existence of Professor Khalili's collection... a feat which could not possibly be duplicated or even approached by any museum in the world today..."

Dr Robert Anderson, Director, British Museum, Talking on the exhibition Japanese Imperial Craftsman, 21 September 1994 - 15 January 1995

"One of the most lavish publications ever produced on Japanese art... the tomes feature... stunningly exquisite artistic treasures ..."

John Chipperfield, WINGS OF GOLD, In-flight Magazine of Malaysian Airlines, November 1995

"This series is a monumental celebration of the material culture of the Islamic peoples, the so called 'people of the Book'. For their production values, for their very substantial scholarship, and of course for the collection itself, these volumes can only be seen as a landmark series...."

Phil Baker, THE ART BOOK, December 1995

"...A landmark in the study of nineteenth century Spanish decorative art."

Dr Alan Borg, Director, Victoria & Albert Museum, 1997

"In these five volumes Professor Khalili has gathered a group of outstanding scholars to work on an equally outstanding collection. Supported by a quality of reproduction which is unsurpassed, the results are certainly spectacular."

J. W. Allan, Journal of the History of Collecting - Vol 10, No 2, 1998

"Today I am speechless and proud to be Japanese"

His Excellency Kunihiko Saito Japanese Ambassador to Washington (on the occasion of the Official Opening of the Delaware Exhibition, 10 April 1999

"The Medici, Lady Charlotte Schreiber, J. Paul Getty - all names inscribed on the roll of honour of those who had an overwhelming urge to collect... Such collectors are spread as thinly today as ever, but one such as Dr Nasser D Khalili who, unusually, is more than willing to share his passion with a wider public."

David Battie, MASTERPIECE, Winter 1999

"The aim of Professor Khalili and the Nour Foundation to put together a scholarly survey of Islamic art in all its facets has certainly been achieved in this catalogue.... Taking these two well-produced volumes from their slip-case is like opening a two-dimensional virtual museum with all the scientific wonders of the Islamic World spread before us."

Willem Hackmann, Bulletin of The Scientific Instrument Society, No. 61, 1999

"...the appreciation of all the Zuloaga descendants [goes] to Prof Khalili... for this superb collection of damascene art, and... for having given the world the opportunity to admire the works, not only of the Zuloagas, but of all the Basque artisans like them."

Mariá Rosa Suárez Zuloaga, Zuloaga Museum Spain, Summer 2000

"Dr. Khalili is a man of obvious rare taste, and his collection of Islamic art is a very important collection, and very wisely collected,"

Herbert Mason in the article - 'Authority and collector Khalili to explore glories of Islamic art' by David J. Craig in Boston University Bridge, Vol. VI, No. 20, February 2003

"Everyone should look at the art of Islam. It confounds every stereotype... This is art... staggering art."

Jonathan Jones, THE GUARDINAN, 13 April 2004

"...Khalili is a most unusual collector - and also an extraordinary man"

Martin Gayford, 'THE INDEPENDENT: ARTS AND BOOKS REVIEW', April 16th 2004

"Healing the world with art"

Martin Gayford, 'THE INDEPENDENT: ARTS AND BOOKS REVIEW', April 16th 2004

"...we are treated to an admirably concise but wide ranging and, in many respects, ground-breaking overview of Ottoman culture"

Susan Moore, FINANCIAL TIMES, July 2005

"Professor Khalili has spent the last 35 years promoting the art and culture of Islam so perhaps it is more appropriate for us to call him 'a cultural ambassador of Islam' ".

His Excellency Dr. Adeli, The Iranian ambassador to London, at the Launch of The TimeLine History of Islamic Art and Architecture, The Banqueting House, London, November 2005

"The Ambassador of Culture"

Mahmud Al-Rashid, EMEL - The Muslim Lifestyle Magazine, January 2006

"The 'Born Collector' "

Martin Gayford, ARTnews, The Global Art Boom, May 2006

"The main reason for the exhibition of Wonders of Imperial Japan at the Van Gogh Museum was its connection to Van Gogh's painting. It was Van Gogh who said in his letter to his brother Theo on 1888 'In a way all my work is founded on Japanese art...' "

Axel Rüger, Director, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, July 2006

"Few men have made such an impressive contribution to the preservation and understanding of Islamic art as Nasser David Khalili, one of the world's foremost collectors. Driven by passion to share the riches of the past with the modern world for more than three decades, his quest to assemble an unparalleled collection has played a central role in his life"

Philippa Scott and Lisa Ball-Lechgar, CANVAS MAGAZINE, January 2007

"This collection is without a doubt the largest and most comprehensive collection of Islamic Art in the world and we consider ourselves very lucky to be able to host it in our Museum."

Edmund Capon, AM,OBE, Director NSW Gallery, Sydney, Australia, Summer 2007

JANUARY 2008 THE ARTS OF ISLAM EXHIBITION - Canvas Magazine

"Professor Khalili is an established world figure in the domain of Islamic art. His academic contributions to understanding Islamic culture are significant and his collection is among the best in the world. It was natural for us to seek him out and establish a personal relationship and friendship between us. Last year, we sent out a team to Sydney, Australia, to see his exhibition at The Art Gallery of New South Wales and we decided that, in view of our wider vision to anchor our Cultural District in its Islamic tradition, it would be important to cooperate with him on a long-term basis."

HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al-Nahyan - Chairman Abu Dhabi Tourism

"The Arts of Islam exhibition is a copious and precious record of Islamic masterpieces and artistic achievements. It is a fertile and inexhaustible treasure house that recounts the history of a community that had a mighty role in building human civilization and enriching it with knowledge, art and culture.
I highly value the efforts of Professor Nasser al-Khalili and what he has done to promote this valuable cultural heritage, to care for it and to preserve it, and to present it to current and future generations so that all who see it will learn about the brilliance of the noble and deeply-rooted Islamic civilization".

Translation of the comment made by HH General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on the occasion of the opening of the Arts of Islam Exhibition in Abu Dhabi January 2008

"Nasser D. Khalili lives, thinks and breathes art. For him life and art are noble and inseparable. Nobody believes more in the healing power of art and the lessons we can learn from it."

James Stourton, Chairman, Sotheby's UK

"Nasser D. Khalili is a born collector and a great ambassador for Islamic art. His collection is unrivalled."

Edward Gibbs, Director & Head of Islamic Art, Sotheby's

"Many items in the Nasser D. Khalili collection are completely unique - without parallel in museums let alone the market. It is a collection that would be impossible to recreate."

William Robinson, Director & Head of Islamic Art, Christie's

"The State Hermitage Museum has worked with Nasser D. Khalili on three occasions and in each case approximately half the pieces were drawn from the Khalili Collection."

Mikhail Piotrovsky, State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg

"An attempt to value the Nasser D. Khalili collection of Islamic Art would be an impossible task. Even with an infinite budget one would not be able to rebuild such a collection; hence it is literally priceless."

Claire Penhallurick, Director, Islamic & Indian art, Bonhams

"The collectors of the art of the past have shown a shift towards making the contents of their collections a matter of public record... the leviathan is Nasser D Khalili's astonishing 32 volumes and rising".

'Great Collectors of our Time' by James Stourton, Chairman, Sotheby's UK

"Abu Dhabi is hosting the most comprehensive exhibition of Islamic art ever staged in the Middle East"

Susan Moore, APOLLO MAGAZINE, March 2008

"David Khalili puts most collectors to shame. In an age in which so many rich men call themselves collectors and seem more interested in displaying their wealth than the art they have acquired through it, Khalili has done rather more then simply raise a paddle in the saleroom".

Susan Moore, APOLLO MAGAZINE, March 2008

"Rencontre avec le plus grand collectionneur du monde, Nasser David Khalili, collectionneur de légende"

"Meeting with the Greatest Collector in the world - Nasser D Khalili, legendary collector"

Stephanie Bélpêche, LE JOURNAL DU DIMANCHE, 4 Octobre 2009

" 'The Public will be astounded by the diversity of the Khalili material'. Said Geoffrey Munn, managing director of wartski, an art and antique dealer in London".

INTERNATIONAL HERALD TRIBUNE, 10th December 2009

"All great collectors are very unusual, but Prof. Khalili is very special. His attitude is: 'I am not the owner. I am the keeper of the collection for the next generation and the next century.' It's a very important philosophy".

Prof Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. December 2009

"It is one of the most important Islamic collection in the world - not just one of the most important in private hands, but in museums, too. It includes all aspects of Islamic art. It's very spectacular."

Professor Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. December 2009

"It's an absolutely superb collection of Enamels. It's fantastically interesting. It brings together different cultures, and it works together in very important ways. It's a dialogue of cultures, and it has unique pieces... He has chosen a field not so much visited by other collectors. The art market comes in waves, and he knows how to gauge the weather."

Professor Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director The State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. December 2009

" 'His collection is certainly the best in private hands' says Edward Gibbs, Sotheby's head of middle Eastern art. 'He is the man who has everything, He's come to define the market'."

BLOOMBERG MAGAZINE, May 2010

"His Islamic treasures include a 14th-centuary Iranian world history by Rashid al-Din Fadlallah, which he says cost him £12 million in 1990. Its one of the greatest illustrated manuscripts in the world"

Tim Stanley, Senior curator for the Middle East at London's Victoria & Albert Museum. Bloomberg Magazine, May 2010

"He’s an unparalleled Art Collector".

Ernest Veen, Director of De Nieuwe Kerk and Hermitage Amsterdam, December 2010

"From The Khalili Collections - perhaps the greatest and grandest assemblage of Islamic art in private hands - comes a wonderfully vivid manuscript illustrating the rites of Hajj in richly... detailed sequence. And, at the heart of the show, is a marvellous display of the magnificent textiles traditionally offered to the Kaaba..."

Rachel Campbell-Johnston - The Times, January 24th 2012 , on the occasion of Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam, an exhibition at the British Museum from 26 January to 15 April 2012