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Leon Levy Foundation

The Leon Levy Foundation has provided more than $200,000 to research and document The Jewish Museum's collection of art from Islamic lands. The Leon Levy Foundation's grant will allow us to complete a research and documentation project to identify all works from Islamic lands and study them across media and object types. We anticipate that this research, to be conducted over a period of 2 years, will generate new insights and approaches to the material that will be used in an eventual publication of this collection.

About The Jewish Museum's collection of Islamic art:
Jews have lived in Muslim lands since Islam was founded in the early 7th century, and the artwork they created or commissioned in these countries reflects a unique convergence of artistic and cultural traditions. While Jews have absorbed and adapted artistic styles and object forms from their host countries, they also contributed their own craft traditions and imagery. Unlike Christian Europe, where Jewish participation in certain crafts was often restricted, Jews in Islamic lands had a long history as artisans, particularly in metal and textiles.

The Jewish Museum is home to an impressive collection of approximately 1075 such works of art, including metalwork, textiles, ceramic, works on paper, and works in horn or wood. The artwork comes from across the globe, from the many areas in which Islam was the dominant presence. The Museum's holdings are strongest in four regions: Palestine; Syria; the Ottoman Empire and Turkey; and Iran or Persia. Other objects come from regions as diverse as North Africa, central Asia, and the Balkans. Together, these works are wonderful examples of the creativity that emerged from the dynamic tension between assimilation and cultural retention, and from the fruitful dialogue between local and Jewish artistic traditions, as well as between Sephardi, Mizrahi and even Ashkenazi forms and styles.

The Leon Levy Foundation, founded in 2004, is a private, not-for-profit foundation created from the estate of Leon Levy, a legendary investor with a long-standing commitment to philanthropy. The Foundation's overarching goal is to continue the tradition of humanism characteristic of Mr. Levy by supporting scholarship at the highest level.