This volume contains an impressive number of essays by authors from diverse
backgrounds. What the title does not indicate is the reason for this publication
– the conference “Layers of Islamic Art and the Museum Context” (held in
Berlin during January 13-16, 2010) in cooperation with the Aga Khan Trust
for Culture, the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, and the “Europe in the Middle
East – The Middle East in Europe” (EUME). The EUME is a Berlin-based
research program initiated by the Brandenburg Academy of Science, the Fritz
Thyssen Foundation, Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and the Forum Transregionale
Studien. This publication drew upon the expertise of the Aga Khan
Network and experts in Germany because it was originally to be a workshop
focused on the reorganization of Berlin’s Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) as
well as a study for Toronto’s Museum of Islamic Art, which will open this
year and house the Aga Khan’s personal collection.
Source: American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences