Florence is not just a beautiful town. It is also the most enigmatic city of Europe whose many mysteries one never succeeds in unraveling, even after several visits to the city.

Its emergence as the intellectual, literary and artistic capital of Europe began with the Renaissance movement in the 15th century when the legendary Medici family, originally bankers by profession — started dominating the Italian economy and the country’s political and cultural realms. They would encourage thinkers like Machiavelli, author of The Prince, and artistic geniuses such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli and many others to create artworks.

The surprise at the moment in Florence is an impressive twin exhibition on Islamic art at the Uffizi Gallery and the National Museum of Bargello. The idea, the organisers say, is to provide the visitors with a rare opportunity to view Oriental chef d’oeuvres and to study the diplomatic exchanges in the past between Europe and the Islamic world.

Two exhibitions in Italy provide art lovers with a rare opportunity to view Oriental chefs-d’oeuvre and to study diplomatic exchanges in the past between Europe and the Islamic world

The two shows concentrate independently on their own arrays of exhibits. The nearly 500 displays belonging to the period between the 15th century and modern times include ceramics and objects from the Moorish era of Spain, when Arab rule had extended across the Mediterranean to Europe. Surprisingly enough, also on display is a stuffed giraffe sent in 1487 by Sultan Qaitbay Mamluk of Egypt as a personal gift to the Florentine ruler, Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Then there are luxuriant Persian carpets, ceramic pots and vases created through polychrome to achieve the enameled glass, crystal and ivory lustreware surfaces — a rare technique that the Europeans had begun to explore with the help of Oriental art.

The two museums didn’t have to go far to gather these precious articles, as Florence has been home for many a century to an extremely important collection of Islamic art containing more than 3,000 pieces. These were acquired by Florentine enthusiasts and were also donated by, among others, by the French millionaire Louis Carrand in 1889 to the Bargello Museum.

One can see in this exhibition a number of splendidly well-preserved manuscripts too, including the astounding Shahnamah of the Persian poet Firdausi composed in the 10th century.

Another surprise is ‘Adoration of the Magi’, a gold-encrusted altarpiece created by the fabled Italian artist Gentile da Fabriano in 1423, with an Arabic script clearly visible on the halo of Virgin Mary.

Special care has been taken by the organisers to encourage art enthusiasts to stay in Florence for a long enough period in order to visit the two exhibitions at their ease and at a much reduced cost. Thanks to a combined ticket sold at half-price and valid for three days, one can, in addition, enter the Archaeological Museum of Florence with its permanent collection of Egyptian, Etruscan and Roman finds.

“Florence & Islamic Art/ Collections from the Renaissance Age to 20th Century” is being displayed at the Uffizi Gallery and National Museum of Bargello in Florence from July 5 to September 23, 2018

The writer is an art critic based in Paris.
ZafMasud@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 19th, 2018