The Khalili Collections

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HAJJ AND THE ARTS OF PILGRIMAGE

May 23, 2022

ASSOULINE SPRING 2022 LEGENDS COLLECTION HAJJ AND THE ARTS OF PILGRIMAGE Text by Qaisra M. Khan, foreword by Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili "The first House [of worship] to be established for people was the one at Mecca. It is a blessed place; a source of guidance for all people." — The Qur’an, Surah Al [...]

We are honoured to announce the publication of three new titles as part of ongoing Islamic series

May 9, 2022

Volume XI (in four parts) Brasses, Bronze and Silver of the Islamic Lands The metalwork holdings in the Khalili Collection are wide ranging and diverse, dating from the 7th century to the 20th century, and covering most of the Islamic world, from the Mediterranean to Brunei, and from Egypt to Central Asia. The Collection includes [...]

Over 100 million views for Khalili images on Wikipedia in 2023

January 7, 2022

Khalili images on Wikipedia This has been a milestone year for the Khalili Collections partnership with Wikimedia UK, with the creation of more wiki content and reaching an even larger audience than in 2020. This is thanks to Dr Martin Poulter, our Wikimedian-in-Residence, who has done a phenomenal job in helping us with bulk image and [...]

The Art Of Hajj

July 14, 2021

The Art of Hajj Alongside the successful program on BBC click on Hajj and simultaneously In conjunction with the yearly celebration of Hajj on 17th July, we are privilege to announce an innovative website showing a selection of artworks to take you through a journey to the heart of Islam, illustrating the rich religious, spiritual, [...]

The Khalili Collections featured on BBC Click

July 14, 2021

The Khalili Collections featured on BBC Click The Khalili Collection's pioneering digitisation programme was the main feature of the latest BBC Click episode titled "High-Res Hajj". The episode coincides with the annual Hajj pilgrimage, which takes place later this week in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. As the BBC highlights, the Khalili Collections holds "the largest and [...]

“The Democratisation of Culture”, Sir David Khalili live in conversation with Neil McGregor

February 25, 2021

The Democratisation of Culture KNOWLEDGE & WISDOM Start Time 25 February 2021 5:00 pm Venue Zoom MODERATED BY: Anne McElvoy – Senior editor a The Economist, and head of Economist Radio ON THE PANEL: Professor Sir Nasser David Khalili – globally-renowned scholar, collector and pioneer of cultural philanthropy. His mission is to promote intercultural and interfaith unity [...]

Professor Nasser David Khalili awarded knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list

October 12, 2020

The Khalili Collections and the Khalili Foundation are proud to announce that our friend and founder, Professor Nasser David Khalili, has been awarded a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours list. This award has been given in recognition of David's lifelong contribution to cultural philanthropy, education and interfaith relations. David has asked us to pass [...]

The Khalili Collections proud to be major contributors to a new V&A Kimono Exhibition: “Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk”

February 29, 2020

The Khalili Collections proud to be major contributors to a new V&A Kimono Exhibition: “Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk” 29 Feb 2020 – 1 Jun 2020 The Khalili Collections are proud to be major contributors to the current blockbuster exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum titled “Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk”. At his opening night speech, Tristram Hunt, Director of the V&A, stated: “We have borrowed some [...]

Professor Khalili delivers landmark public lecture at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies

February 26, 2020

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies hosted a landmark public lecture by Professor Khalili on ‘Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage’ on Wednesday 26th February. The Khalili ‘Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage’ Collection – comprising approximately 4500 objects related to Hajj and the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah – is considered by experts to rank [...]

“Masterpieces of the World” – A Landmark Partnership between Wikimedia UK and the Khalili Collections

October 28, 2019

Wikimedia UK has launched a landmark partnership with the UK-based Khalili Collections – one of the greatest and most comprehensive private collections in the world. As part of the “Masterpieces of the World” project, the Khalili Collections will initially provide a Creative Commons license to several high resolution images, as well as to summaries of [...]

Historic Partnership launched between Google Cultural Institute and the Khalili Collections

October 28, 2019

Google Arts & Culture has launched a historic partnership with the UK-based Khalili Collections – one of the greatest and most comprehensive private collections in the world. Viewers will now be able to use Google Arts & Culture features – such as browsing for art by year, colour or geographical origin – to explore the highlights [...]

The Khalili Collections Reunites Landmark Imperial Japanese Garniture – Said to be The Largest Examples of Cloisonné Enamel Ever Made – After Over 120 Years

April 12, 2019

The Khalili Collections are proud to announce the reuniting of a landmark Japanese garniture, last seen in complete formation over 120 years ago at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which attracted 27 million visitors, which at the time was almost half the American population. The eight feet tall vases (2.44m) dubbed at the [...]

Longing for Mecca – with a major contribution from the Khalili Collections – opens at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam

April 4, 2019

Video The Khalili Collections is proud to be the major contributor to a landmark exhibition on the Hajj at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam. Longing for Mecca offers a unique insight into the Hajj, Islam’s most important pilgrimage and one of the world’s biggest religious, spiritual and cultural phenomena. The exhibition is on display until 12th January 2020. The Khalili Collections [...]

Professor Khalili opens the “Splendours of Imperial Japan” exhibition at the Guimet Museum in Paris.

October 16, 2018

The Khalili Collections is proud to be the major contributor to a landmark exhibition at the Guimet Museum in Paris to mark the 150th anniversary of the Meiji Restoration. This exhibition addresses various aspects of the modernization of Japan and the internationalization of artistic production through different artistic techniques. It includes, among other things, examples [...]

Hajj & the Arts of Pilgrimage | The Khalili Collections

September 12, 2018

To mark the end of the Islamic month of Dhu'l Hijjah, we are delighted to share with you our new short film: "Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage". We hope you find it enriching. With best wishes Professor Nasser D. Khalili Founder, The Khalili Collections Hajj & the Arts of Pilgrimage | The Khalili Collections

National Treasures – The Art of Collecting

February 20, 2018

Dearest Friends, We are delighted to announce that on the 21st February at 8pm, Sky Arts (channel 122) will broadcast a documentary about Prof. Khalili’s journey as a collector. Titled The Art of Collecting, the film will highlight multiple objects from the Eight Khalili Collections as National Treasures. We hope you enjoy watching it . With Best [...]

BEYOND IMAGINATION Treasures of Imperial Japan from the Khalili Collection 19th to early 20th century

July 5, 2017

BEYOND IMAGINATION Treasures of Imperial Japan from the Khalili Collection 19th to early 20th century 5 July 2017 – 1 October 2017 The Moscow Kremlin Museums opened this exhibition presenting Japanese applied and decorative art of the 19th to early 20th century from The Khalili Collection. A variety of world famous Japanese kimono, unsurpassed samples [...]

Sir David speaking at SOAS on the preservation of history through art collecting

Professor David Khalili speaking at SOAS on the preservation of history through art collecting

November 16, 2016

SOAS Honorary Fellow Professor Nasser David Khalili, KSS, KCSS spoke on the preservation of history through art collecting at SOAS University of London on 7 December. Professor Khalili is a world renowned scholar, collector, benefactor and philanthropist as well as a successful businessman. His collections, which consist of 35,000 items, include the arts of the [...]

Aventuriers des mers: de Sindbad à Marco Polo. Méditeranée – Océan Indien

November 15, 2016

‘Ocean Explorers: From Sindbad to Marco Polo’ on display from 15 November 2016 to 26 February 2017. An artistic odyssey has dropped anchor on Parisian shores and we are thrilled to see many pieces from the Khalili Collections amongst the booty. ‘Ocean Explorers: From Sindbad to Marco Polo’ is an immersive maritime adventure taking visitors from the [...]

Power and Protection, Islamic Art and the Supernatural, Ashmolean Museum Oxford

November 1, 2016

Showcasing over a hundred spectacular objects from Morocco to China, Power and Protection is the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. Within Islamic societies, people of all backgrounds have engaged in fascinating and sometimes controversial practices such as the casting of horoscopes and the interpretation of omens. […]