Last updated 20/10/2022
This evolving page gathers online resources on Islamic arts.
Because most of national libraries and museums around the world have Islamic art collections of various size, it has been decided not to list museums and libraries online databases.
Get in touch if you have more specific questions about collections of Islamic arts, or if you have any suggestion.
- Academia – Open access database of scientific articles and books on various topics
- Access to Mideast and Islamic Resources (AMIR) – A goldmine of open access resources: journals, libraries, collections.
- Al-Furqan Islamic Heritage Foundation – Foundation aiming to publish Islamic manuscripts and establish a reference library
- APAMI– French association of Students in Islamic arts history and archaeology, the website (in French) draws the list of events and exhibitions dedicated to Islamic arts.
- Arab Image Foundation – Database of photographs from the Middle East, North Africa and Arab diaspora
- Archnet – Open access database focused on architecture, urbanism, environmental and landscape design, visual culture, and conservation issues related to the Muslim world
- Archive.org – Large database of varied resources, including primary sources in public domain and secondary sources on many topics. You can start with this classic.
- Asian and African studies blog – British Library blog, contains a large number of articles on Islamic manuscripts
- Bayut – Page dedicated to geometric pattern in Islamic Arts, with link to additional resources on other websites (thank you Haily for the suggestion).
- Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum (DISC) – Association coordinating an Islamic Studies curriculum through the Big Ten Academic Alliance CourseShare program. All the courses are taught by Islamic studies experts.
- Harvard collection of Middle East Photograph – Collection of more than 150,000 photographs and slides on Islamic art and architecture
- Historians of Islamic Art Association – non-profit, non-political organization whose purpose is to promote the study and teaching of the art, architecture and archaeology of Islamic cultures
- Institut Francais d’archeologie orientale – Part of the network of Ecoles Francaises, focuses on Egypt. Includes online archives and photographs
- Islamic manuscripts – Open access database on Islamic codicology (study of manuscripts), moderated by Pr Jan Just Witkam
- Istanbul Research Institute – Study center focusing on the cultural structure and the human profile, including Byzantine, Ottoman and the Republican periods of the İstanbul. Includes online resources and link to Turkish libraries.
- JSTOR – Partly open access database of scientific articles and books on various topics
- Khamseen – free and open-access online platform of digital resources to aid the teaching of Islamic art, architecture, and visual culture.
- Mamluk Studies Review – Annual, Open Access, refereed journal devoted to the study of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria
- Metropolitan Museum Online Publications – Opensource access to MET publications including books on Islamic arts and history
- MIT Libraries, Art and Architecture of the Islamic World, an introduction – This guide includes resources for research on the arts, architecture and archaeology of the Islamic world
- Museum with no Frontiers – Opensource database of objects from museums all around the world, as well as timelines and articles
- National Library and Archives or Iran – In Farsi only, includes open access to manuscripts
- Orient Mediterranee UMR 8267 – French research centre, the website (in French) includes a list of online resources (webographie).
- Shahnama Project – A comprehensive collection of manuscripts of the Shahnama the Persian epic ‘Book of Kings’, completed by the poet Firdausi in AD 1010
- The Islamic Manuscripts Association
- The Islamic Art Network, non-profit foundation to support and promote the preservation and study of Islamic cultural patrimony. Includes links to Thesaurus Islamicus and other organisations
- University of Michigan online resources on Islamic Manuscripts – An extensive database of resources on Islamic manuscripts, including link to online collections around the world
- Wade Photo archive – Archive of over 4000 images of Islamic patterns and designs
Auction houses and Galleries
Auction Houses
- Sotheby’s, London
- Christie’s, London
- Bonhams, London
- Roseberys, London
- Chiswick, London
- Bloomsbury, London – manuscripts only
- Lion & Turnbull, London/ Glasgow/ Edinburgh
- Millon et Associés, Paris
- Ader Nordman, Paris
- Artcurial, Paris
- Rim Encheres, Paris
- Boisgirard-Antonini, Paris (the Islamic art page is empty, better to check Drouot.com)
- Leclere, Paris – Orientalist only
- Gros & Delettrez, Paris – Orientalist only
- Tehran Auction, Tehran
Galleries
- Galerie Samarcande, Paris
- Alexis Renard, Paris
- Galerie Kevorkian, Paris
- Simon Ray, London
- Francesca Galloway, London
- David Aaron, London
- AER Gallery, London
- Runjeet Singh, UK
- Carlton Rochell, New York
- Prahlad Bubbar, London
- Kent Antiques, London