Les Pièces dans leur Contenue Historique
International Pieces
Among the exhibition's most important international pieces,
special mention should be made of: Altar panel from the
Victoria and Albert Museum (London, Great Britain), three
glasses from The Nasser Khalili Collection of Islamic Art,
manuscript from the Universal History by Ibn Khaldun (French
National Library), helmet of Sultan Ibn Qalawun, Egypt or Syria
(1293-1341) (Royal Museum of Art and History, Brussels),
Sultanabad bowl (Caloustre Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon),
astrolobe quadrant (The David Collection, Copenhagen), lectern
for Koran (National Museum, Damascus), al-Muqqadima manuscript
from Topkapi Palace (Istanbul), north African Nautical Map
(Ambrosiana Library, Milan).
Spanish Pieces
The most noteworthy Spanish pieces include:
Standard from the Battle of Salado (Toledo Cathedral), priory
seat of Doña Blanca de Aragón (Lleida Diocesan and Regional
Museum), manuscript letter of the Sultan of Granada to king
Jaime II of Aragon (Royal Aragon Archive), manuscript of the
Hafsid sovereign of Tunisia to king Jaime II of Aragon (Royal
Aragon Archive) and a selection of 70 coins (Royal Mint,
Madrid)
Analysis
- Fourteenth-century Mediterranean empires
"Empires fall, races decline, the strong become weak and beauty dies amidst wrinkles and grey hairs. Life never stops in its eternal function, and with the causes that fall down into old age, the paths of youth on the rise meet and cross one another. You will always find powerful empires, strong races, fresh, original ideals and beauties; here, along with the drain of death, are the springs of constant, fertile birth...".
Benito Pérez Galdós, Aita Tetuan
- Two icons of war in the 14th century
- Jewish merchants in the 14th century
Source: Fundación El Legado Andalusí