Near & Middle East

The collections relating to the Islamic World consist of a small but representative group of ceramics, examples of fine calligraphy and painted miniatures, and excellent Mughal jades.

The Ancient Near East is well represented by excavated material from Jerusalem, Jericho, Lachish, Ur and Nimrud, and includes two reliefs, thought to be from Nineveh. There is also an extensive collection of seals.  Unfortunately, at present the Museum does not have a gallery displaying our pre-Islamic collections from the Near East.  If you would like to see any of this material, please contact us to make an appointment to view the stored collections.  We hope to create a new gallery for this material in the near future.

Artefacts from other places and periods in the Oriental Museum's Islamic and Middle Eastern collections include Syria, Iran, Armenia, Turkey, the Caucasus, Iraq, and the Ottoman Empire.

Iranian blue and white bowl, 16th Century CE (1969.446.b)