Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage in the context of "Nasser Khalili"

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⭐ Core Definition: Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage

The Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage is a private collection of around 5,000 items relating to the Hajj, the pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca which is a religious duty in Islam.It is one of eight collections assembled, conserved, published and exhibited by the British scholar, collector and philanthropist Nasser Khalili; each collection is considered among the most important in its field. The collection's 300 textiles include embroidered curtains from the Kaaba, the Station of Abraham, the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad and other holy sites, as well as textiles that would have formed part of pilgrimage caravans from Egypt or Syria. It also has illuminated manuscripts depicting the practice and folklore of the Hajj as well as photographs, art pieces, and commemorative objects relating to the Hajj and the holy sites of Mecca and Medina.

Part of the collection was exhibited at the British Museum in 2012 and it has lent objects for exhibition in other countries. It is documented in a 2022 single-volume summary, with a 7-volume comprehensive catalog in the works. Alongside the Topkapı Palace museum, it has been described as "the largest and most significant group of objects relating to the cultural history of the Hajj".

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Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage in the context of Khalili Collections

The Khalili Collections are eight distinct art collections assembled by Nasser D. Khalili over five decades. Together, the collections include some 35,000 works of art, and each is considered among the most important in its field.

Among these are the largest private collection of Islamic art, with 26,000 objects. A separate collection includes around 5,000 objects relating to the Hajj, spanning from the 7th century AD to the present day. From Japan, there are 2,200 pieces of Meiji era decorative art and another collection of more than 450 kimono, covering a 300-year period. The most comprehensive private collection of enamels, with over 1,500 pieces, includes examples from China, Japan, Europe, and Islamic lands. The eight collections also include 100 flatweave textiles from southern Sweden, 150 examples of Spanish damascened metalwork (i.e. with metal inlaid into other metal), and 48 Aramaic documents from 4th century-BC Bactria. These various collections show two themes that commonly motivate private collections: collecting examples of the highest artistic merit and forming complete series.

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Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage in the context of Anis Al-Hujjaj

The Anis Al-Hujjaj (Pilgrim's Companion, also transcribed Anis ul-Hujjaj) is a seventeenth-century literary work by Safi ibn Vali, an official of the Mughal court in what is now India. Written in Persian, it describes the Hajj (the pillar of Islam which is the pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina) undertaken by him in 1677 AD (AH 1088) and it gives advice to pilgrims. Its illustrations depict pilgrims travelling to the holy sites and taking part in the rituals of the Hajj. They are also a visual guide to significant places and people.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Khalili Collections ← Anis Al-Hujjaj
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Hajj → Mecca → Islam → Khalili Collections → Nasser Khalili → Kaaba → Station of Abraham → Tomb of the Prophet Muhammad → Egypt → Syria → Medina → British Museum → Topkapı Palace →