Al-Andalus and the V&A with Mariam Rosser-Owen

Art Informant

For the 30th episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert travels to mediaeval Spain with Dr Mariam Rosser-Owen, curator of the Middle Eastern Section in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Al-Andalus, Muslim Spain and Portugal, is particularly recognised for its rich production of carved ivory objects and its architecture, which Mariam and Isabelle talk about at length in the episode. They also discuss Mariam's role as a curator in the Victoria and Albert museum in London, the ongoing changes in the museum, and Mariam fascinating collaborations with contemporary artists.

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Mentioned in the Episode and Further Links

• Follow the Art Informant on Instagram and Twitter
• Follow Marian Rosser-Owen on Instagram and Academia
• Articulating the Ḥijāba: Cultural Patronage and Political Legitimacy in al-Andalus, Brill, 2021
• Mariam's publications on the V&A blog
• Mosque of Cordoba, information and pictures (Archnet)
• The Ardabil Carpet, Persia, 16th c. (V&A)
• Fatimid rock crystal ewer, Egypt, 10th-11th c. (V&A)
• Book of Gifts and Rarities: Selections Compiled in the Fifteenth Century from an Eleventh-Century Manuscript on Gifts and Treasures, trans. Ghada Hijjawi-Qaddumi, Harvard, 1997
• Ivory Act 2018
• Abbas Akbari
• Malek Gnaoui
• Shahpour Pouyan
• Sphero-Conical Vessels: Evidence from Baalbek (Lebanon), Valentina Vezzoli (Khamseen)
• Click here for more episodes of the ART Informant.

Click here to see the reproductions of artifacts discussed in the episode.