"...the Imagination (or love, or sympathy, or any other sentiment) induces knowledge, and knowledge of an 'object' which is proper to it..."
Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a scholar, philosopher and theologian. He was a champion of the transformative power of the Imagination and of the transcendent reality of the individual in a world threatened by totalitarianisms of all kinds. One of the 20th century’s most prolific scholars of Islamic mysticism, Corbin was Professor of Islam & Islamic Philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the University of Teheran. He was a major figure at the Eranos Conferences in Switzerland. He introduced the concept of the mundus imaginalis into contemporary thought. His work has provided a foundation for archetypal psychology as developed by James Hillman and influenced countless poets and artists worldwide. But Corbin’s central project was to provide a framework for understanding the unity of the religions of the Book: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. His great work Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn ‘Arabi is a classic initiatory text of visionary spirituality that transcends the tragic divisions among the three great monotheisms. Corbin’s life was devoted to the struggle to free the religious imagination from fundamentalisms of every kind. His work marks a watershed in our understanding of the religions of the West and makes a profound contribution to the study of the place of the imagination in human life.

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Wednesday, November 25, 2009

"Falnama: The Book of Omens" Updates

"Falnama: The Book of Omens" at the Sackler Gallery Offers First Exhibition of Rare Manuscripts

Sackler GalleryExhibit Page with link to Images

BBC World News America Web site and Newscast Features "Falnama" exhibition in "Behind the Book of Omens"


From the Press Release:

A group of unusual, illustrated manuscripts called the Falnama that were once used by sultans, shahs and commoners to explore the unknown will be on view Oct. 24 through Jan. 24, 2010, at the Smithsonian's Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. "Falnama: The Book of Omens" is the first exhibition ever to be devoted to these rare works, which were created in 16th- and 17th-century Iran and Turkey. The Sackler Gallery will be the sole venue for this international exhibition featuring works of art from public and private collections.
Arresting images, supersaturated color and dazzling detail confronted seekers of omens in these oversized books. Adam and Eve ride out of paradise on the backs of a spectacular, dragon-like serpent and an equally fanciful peacock while startled angels look on. On another page, the angel of death in the guise of a ferocious gray demon drops out of the sky to pounce on Shaddad ibn Ad, who, according to the Koran, transgressed by daring to recreate paradise on Earth. On yet another page, the most celebrated physician of antiquity, Hippocrates, looks calmly over his shoulder as he travels through deep azure skies on the back of a mythical bird.
"Falnama illustrations possess a theatricality that sets them apart from other contemporary works," said Massumeh Farhad, chief curator and curator of Islamic art at the Freer and Sackler galleries and organizer of the exhibition.
While some versions of Falnama were popular in the streets and marketplaces of Isfahan, Iran, and Istanbul, Turkey, where fortunetellers improvised divinations for paying customers, four "monumental" volumes, notable for their scale, bold compositions and brilliant palette, were created for use in more affluent and courtly circles. Three of these volumes will be on display in the exhibition.
The works on view come from the Topkapı Palace Library in Istanbul, the Metroplitan Museum of Art in New York, the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin, the Louvre Museum in Paris and the Freer Gallery of Art. The exhibition will include more than 20 of the 29 folios of the so-called dispersed Falnama, created during the reign of the Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasb (reigned 1524-76), as well as never-before-seen folios from Ahmed I's copy and a third unpublished volume.
The most widely published and now dispersed copy of the Falnama was created in the late 1550s to early 1560s at the court of Shah Tahmasb at a time when he had become increasingly preoccupied with his legacy and recounted his memoirs in seven vivid dreams. Another copy of the Falnama was compiled and illuminated by Kalender Pasha, a vizier at the court of Ahmed I (reigned 1603-17), the Ottoman sultan and patron of the celebrated "Blue" mosque.
To consult the wisdom of the Falnama, a seeker would first perform ritual ablutions and recite certain prayers before opening the manuscript randomly to an image and its accompanying text. Much like a talisman or a planetary configuration, the image was the key to unlocking the meaning of the omen. "They appeal to our common desire to know what the future holds and our need for guidance and protection in an uncertain world," said Farhad.
The manuscripts contain a range of images, from planets and zodiac signs to the lives and deeds of Abrahmic and Islamic saints and prophets, and were meant to aid a seeker in the process of making difficult decisions—from embarking on a voyage to waging war against an enemy. When seen as a group, the images suggest a vibrant and shared religious culture, embracing universal moral and ethical values. Seekers were encouraged to emulate the ethical and moral behavior of the prophets and saints portrayed in the Falnama.
"People clearly enjoyed the more fanciful aspects of divination, but they also took seriously the precepts of religion and morality reinforced in these very powerful images and prognostications," said Farhad.
The fully illustrated exhibition catalog, co-edited by Farhad and Serpil Bağcı, professor of art history at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, will offer the first comprehensive exploration of the Falnama and the practice of bibliomancy in Islamic culture. Essays by a number of eminent historians will shed light on a chapter of Ottoman and Safavid history that is largely unexplored.
Events surrounding the opening of "Falnama: The Book of Omens"will include family programs, concerts, lectures and film screenings. For more information about "Falnama" opening events, visit www.asia.si.edu or call (202) 633-1000.
The exhibition has been made possible with the support of an anonymous donor, The Folger Fund and the Hagop Kevorkian Fund. Other contributors include Mr. and Mrs. Farhad Ebrahimi and the Smithsonian Scholarly Studies Program. The catalog was underwritten by Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute.
The Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, located at 1050 Independence Avenue S.W., and the adjacent Freer Gallery of Art, located at 12th Street and Independence Avenue S.W., are on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Dec. 25, and admission is free. The galleries are located near the Smithsonian Metrorail station on the Blue and Orange lines. For more information about the Freer and Sackler galleries and their exhibitions, programs and other events, the public is welcome to visit www.asia.si.edu. For general Smithsonian information, the public may call (202) 633-1000 or TTY (202) 633-5285.

3 comments:

  1. Welcome back Tom! Hope you enjoyed the break!

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  2. thanks - still on "break" but I'll post news and other things now & then - look for a post on Olson & Corbin in a few weeks.

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  3. This is a "must see" show. There are masterpieces in the show that one will not be able to see once the exhibit closes. The "shirt of armor", full of apotropaica coded in koranic script within script painted in blinding detail on a cotton undergarment, designed to ward off any evil against a combattant wearer, is awe-inspiring for any theist plugged into the power of the visual. Venetien illuminations become peripheral bonbons in comparison. Brilliant piece. From Vancouver to Mexico City, and any point in Western Europe, this exhibit is worth the flight. Incredibely rare pieces. The photographes in the scholarly catalogue do no have the magic of the originals, though worth the purchase. Book the flight. Even if you stay only 24 hrs.

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