The Khalili Collections

India, or possibly Mecca by Indian artists, The Dala’il al-Khayrat of al-Jazuli and Other Prayers, MSS 1283 | | dated Rajab 1216 (November 1801) & Ramadan 1216 (January 1802), Khalili Collection.

The Khalili Collections are eight distinct art collections assembled by Nasser D. Khalili over five decades. Among these are the largest private collection of Islamic art, with 28,000 items including 2,000 ceramics and 600 items of jewellery. A separate collection includes around 5,000 objects relating to the Hajj, spanning from the 7th century AD to the present day. From Japan, there are 1,600 items of Meiji era decorative art and another collection of more than 450 kimono, covering a 300-year period. Also included are a comprehensive collection of enamels, with over 1,300 items, includes items from China, Japan, Europe and Islamic lands, 100 flatweave textiles from southern Sweden, 100 examples of Spanish damascened metalwork (i.e. with metal inlaid into other metal), and 48 Aramaic documents from 4th century-BC Bactria. These various collections - each of which has its own microsite - show two themes that commonly motivate private collections: collecting examples of the highest artistic merit and forming complete series.