"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 a 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."
Lisa Scotland, CANVAS - Vol. 3 Issue 1 |
"His collection is superlative and to have it on permanent display in this country would be phenomenal."
A quote by Peter Stock of the British Library in an article by Ian Birrell and Robina Gibb; SUNDAY TIMES |
"....the sheer richness, beauty and scholarly importance of the collection....."
EVENING STANDARD |
".....Professor Nasser David Khalili unravelled details of a treasure trove that has taken the art world by storm; the largest known privately held collection of Islamic art anywhere in the world...."
Jalal Uddin Ahmed; THE DAILY AWAZ INTERNATIONAL |
"...a man who buys over such a wide area must have a uniquely broad and deep knowledge."
Susan Morris; THE ANTIQUE COLLECTOR |
"(Professor Khalili) bought the objects to simulate a wider understanding of the material culture of the Islamic world. The collection has a historical and systematic sense of purpose and opens the way for fresh perspectives on the Islamic world".
Sylvia Andea Smith; MUHIBA (Royal Brunei Airlines magazine) |
".....we are treated to an admirably concise but wide ranging and, in many respects, ground-breaking overview of Ottoman culture"
Susan Moore; FINANCIAL TIMES |
"The wide-ranging collector David Khalili has a seemingly infinite ability to pull new tricks out of the hat, and his most recent is amongst his most spectacular - Empire of the Sultans."
John Carswell; HALI |
"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 |
"The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art is one of the grandest and most extensive now in private hands...."
John Russell Taylor; THE TIMES |
"In conjunction with the four Koranic volumes preceding it, this characteristically sumptuous addition to the twenty-seven volume Khalili Collection completes a series-within-a-series....."
Phil Baker; THE ART BOOK |
"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 |
Science, Tools and Magic - "As its title implies, this lavish production includes many beautiful objects and manuscripts beyond the astrolabes, globes and quadrants.....It is wonderful to have a work whose quality of images is equalled by the excellence of its scholarship."
Owen Gingerich (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics); JOURNAL FOR THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY - vol 30 |
"The latest volume (Paintings from India) in the catalogues of the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art is a welcome addition to this sumptuous publishing venture."
John Guy (Victoria and Albert Museum); THE ART NEWSPAPER - No 97 |
"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 |
"David Khalili is one of the most charismatic men I have ever met."
John Carswell; HALI MAGAZINE |
"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' who had taste and the means to back their judgement. Such collections are spread as thinly today as ever, but one such is Professor Nasser D. Khalili... His collection of Islamic works of art is impressive, as is the unrivalled group of metalwork, ceramics, cloisonn-, lacquer and ivories from meiji Japan (1868-1912). There are also collections of Spanish damascened metalwork, particularly by the master-craftsman Zuloaga, and textiles from Sweden and India, all under the auspices of the Khalili Family Trust."
David Battie; MASTERPIECE MAGAZINE |
| USA EXHIBITIONS OF EMPIRE OF THE SULTANS - OTTOMAN ART FROM THE COLLECTION OF NASSER D. KHALILI |
"Such is the scale of his collection that amongst my knowledge he is spoken of in the same breath as the late oil billionaire, Paul Getty."
Tom Rubython; EURO BUSINESS - LONDON |
"Empire (of the Sultans) is meant not to overwhelm viewers but to softly insinuate itself into their senses. Without shouting, its quality is obvious to an open mind...Nasser D. Khalili wears his power almost apologetically"
Bob Hicks; THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN |
| HEAVEN ON EARTH: ART FROM ISLAMIC LANDS Islamic Art from The State Hermitage Museum and The Khalili Collection, 25 March to 22 August 2004 |
"A chance to see beyond stereotypes, Heaven on Earth, below, at the Hermitage Rooms, Somerset House - sets out to explain the contradictory language of Islamic art to the West; how a taste for extreme luxury can be combined with abstract severity"
The Times |
"Islam's heavenly treasures. A sensational new exhibition at Somerset House, London, reveals the wonders of Islamic art"
The Independent |
"Islamic art has baffled and intrigued the West for centuries. A rare new show reveals its riches"
The Times |
"Sumptuous works from two of the finest collections of Islamic art have come together in a breathtaking new exhibition. And the timing could not be better." "The current exhibition-offers an opportunity to appreciate the richness and depth of the Islamic culture of the past, and allows a moment to step back from the awful reality of the present day-.We are being invited to consider a sophisticated culture and the religion that dominated it."
Country Life |
"Another successful exhibition at the Hermitage Rooms - traverses a huge time span - from the 8th to the 19th century - in a matter of a few sparsely hung rooms. Yet the show has a freshness and coherence which is often moving, at other times deeply foreign-Conflicting impulses towards austerity and luxury here intermingle for our visual edification."
The Spectator |
"...a small but beautiful exhibition-.is at least a bright reminder of the threads of connection - the quest for spiritual enlightenment, the thirst for beauty, the yearning for paradise - that join the Muslim and the Western worlds."
The Sunday Telegraph |
"The dreamlike flowing Kufic script (the calligraphic hand most commonly used by medieval transcribers of the Qur'an) that moved across empty space in the manuscripts at Somerset House sets you free from earthly concerns, slows you down, hypnotises. This is art - staggering art."
The Guardian |
"Surprisingly for those who may think that Islam bans all human representation, the exhibition features formal portraits of its leaders and even scantily-clad ladies who seemed to have haunted the royal palaces."
Socialist Future |
"Everyone should look at the art of Islam. It confounds every stereotype - including the idea that Islam is identical in every time and place. Wherever Muslims settled in the middle ages, they interacted creatively with local cultures, whether classical, Jewish, Christian or Zoroastrian"
The Guardian |
"But his aim in putting together this astounding panoply of ancient Korans, Persian miniatures, precious ceramics, intricate metal-work, glass, jewels, superb carpets and endless other items - is not that of the billionaire collector of fable, who gloats alone over his possessions in a mansion. Khalili's motives are idealistic and educational. He wants the world to understand these things better and value them more highly."
The Independent |
"In today's climate we need more people like David Khalili."
Lord Alton; The Universe |
"Intelligently produced and sumptuously illustrated"
Financial Times |
"These volumes [are] stunning. A joy to hold and behold"
Times Literary Supplement |
"Well-researched and beautifully illustrated catalogue"
Reference and Research Book News |
"Few men have made such an impressive contribution to Islamic art as Nasser D Khalili. Driven by a passion to share the ruches of the past, meet the man who has spent the last 35 years assembling the largest collection of its kind in the world"
"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 CANVAS SUPPLEMENT |
"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, Director, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg
THE CANVAS SUPPLEMENT |
"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
THE CANVAS SUPPLEMENT |
"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 CANVAS SUPPLEMENT |
"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
THE CANVAS SUPPLEMENT |
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