Educational Media Reviews Online

One film in the two-part series Islamic Art at the V&A, An Introduction to Islamic Art is a primer on art objects from Islamic nations as seen through one of Europe's strongest collections, the Jameel Gallery of the Victoria & Albert Museum. For the purposes of the V&A, and consequently for the film, Islamic art is defined as art from Islamic states, not necessarily focusing on objects inspired by Islam.

Rather than following a historical or geographic logic, the film jumps from theme to theme, or object to object. This disjointedness, however, does allow for a basic introduction of the major ideas in Islamic art, as evidenced by some amazing art objects—everything from textiles, tiles, mosque architecture, manuscripts, and decorative arts, to the intricate 16th century Ardabil Carpet.

The objects are introduced and discussed by knowledgeable and enthusiastic curators. These interviews are inter-cut with taped footage and still photographs that appear to be taken from the exhibit catalog. While it is an excellent choice to feature the curators in front of the art, it adversely affected the sound quality of the interviews, which occur while the museum is open. Additionally, some of the close- ups of the art pieces are out of focus.

This film is recommended for those looking for a basic introduction to Islamic art. An instructor not need show the entire film, but could select a few interesting themes (poetry, patronage, the court) or a few selected objects (the rock crystal ewer, ivory boxes from Islamic Spain, Ottoman textiles).