art museum

i got the chance to go to national Islamic Arts Museum recently. they are having special exhibition on jewelled arts of India in the Moghuls Dynasty. i guess we all know that India is famous with the production colourful accessories with colourful stones, gems and beads embeded on gold or silver, and they wear them too. but, the knowledge is not the same until you see the original piece with your own eyeballs. the masterpieces dated back in 16th & 17th century and surprisingly, they look so new that i have to ask someone else in the gallery if those are original or just miniatures. and once i found out that they are the original pieces, i started playing with my imagination. like the pendants and the rings are once worn by the emperors. and how the dagger was used to stabbed someone, and they used to have blood on it, but they cleaned it up and polished the stones until they are shiny. they are just too many jewelleries with so so so many beautiful design and colours on display. they even have gems like diamonds and jades embebeded on swords and shields, and they go killing people with it. it looks heavy though. i bet one small ring must value like 100million Ringgit Malaysia today, or more. but its funny that those jewelleries are mainly worn by men according to the paintings that somehow described the items. towards the end of the exhibition, there are these small stones with inscription on them. there is one which is very tiny, less than 3cmx3cm, and it has 12 inscriptions on it, in arabic calligraphy! my favourite was the red stone, if i'm not mistaken its a ruby, sized more or less 2x2cm and it has the Ayatul Kursi on it. imagined fitting the whole ayat on a stone that small. and the stones with inscriptions are all handcraft. that just blew me away!!

and then i moved on to the main gallery which is also the permanent gallery of the museum. this gallery allows you to take photos of the items but without flash. but i knew that fact too late so i missed the first half part of the gallery. but i did shot some photos on my favourites findings. so here goes:

 this is the Qur'an, originated from China, written in chinese calligraphy.

 

also from China, dated back in 12th-14th century. and for these original piece which dated back in the year 8 Hijrah, thinking that our prophet Rasulullah SAW was still alive then, really means something.

 5 juzuk of the Qur'an, also from China. my Chinese friend said, the cover reads 'The Faith Book'.

also from China, the juzuk of the Qur'an.

 these really caught me in awe. the cover is actually made from leather.

 the clothing during the Ottoman age.

 i instantly love this chest once i laid my eyes on it. its like a musical box with side's opening with many drawers, dont you think?

another many-drawer-chest.

 

and another one..

and this is one of the many domes in the museum. magnificent architecture! you must be standing under the dome to know the feeling it gives you.

 after this one i decided to have my own dome in my house. hehehe

i missed the Qur'an Manuscript and Architecture galleries though because we were rushing to go home :( maybe i'll visit it again one day. you people who wants to experience the glorious feeling of looking at the artifacts of the Islamic world, please do come to the museum too. and you people who want to see the Qur'an from other parts of the world, please do come too. they also have the Qur'an which is found in the Tanah Melayu, but i didnt get the chance to take the photo of it. just make sure you have one whole day dedicated to explore the galleries, and you wont regret it :)