Curating Islamic Art in European Museums

At the intersection of cultural heritage and contemporary museum practice, this book explores how Islamic art is presented and interpreted within European museums. In doing so, the book challenges the prevailing narrative that the post-2000s revitalization of Islamic art galleries was primarily a political response to international events. Instead, Jame examines these developments as part of a longue durée process rooted in evolving art historical perspectives and institutional efforts to de-Europeanize their approaches.

Through transnational, comparative research conducted in English, French, and German, the book provides a nuanced understanding of the complex forces reshaping Islamic art curation. The book offers a comprehensive analysis of curatorial strategies across major European museums with significant Islamic art collections, focusing on case studies from the Département des Arts de l'Islam at the Louvre, the Albukhary Foundation Islamic World Gallery at the British Museum, and the Museum für Islamische Kunst in Berlin and examining how these institutions have responded to shifting paradigms in both museum studies and art history. Drawing on theoretical frameworks of new museology and postcolonial studies, Jame explores the entanglement of aesthetics, representation, institutional intent, and the shifting epistemologies of art history. The volume addresses a central yet overlooked aspect—the integration of contemporary art into galleries historically dedicated to Islamic art—interrogating the linear timeline traditionally assigned to Islamic art and its implicit exclusion of the modern era. Jame critically examines how museums, while aspiring to be platforms of cultural dialogue, continue to grapple with the enduring structures and categorizations inherited from their 19th-century foundations. This research reveals that beyond political influences, museums are redefining Islamic art through intentional engagement with societies, communities, and contemporary artists. Jame argues that efforts to decolonize or globalize the presentation of Islamic art often result in a reconfiguration rather than a dismantling of the European gaze—creating new forms of cultural othering under the guise of inclusivity.

By interrogating whether museums can function as active agents of epistemic and social transformation or remain tethered to ideological legacies, this vital contribution to art history, Islamic studies, and museum theory invites scholars, curators, and readers to reflect on how the display of Islamic art continues to evolve at the intersection of history, power, and identity.