The Museum für Islamische Kunst is an internationally renowned research centre, whose employees work in the fields of art and cultural studies, archaeology, restoration studies, object provenance, as well as museum studies and the history of science. The Museum’s activities cover a broad spectrum, ranging from fundamental research into objects using scientific procedures to the analysis of material cultural techniques and critical investigations of object provenance and collecting histories.
One of the focuses of the Museum’s research, restoration and exhibition projects is the urban legacy of the Near and Middle East and its conservation. Featuring finds from historical excavations, the extensive holdings of the collection form the foundations and field of reference for these activities. The objects in the collection originate from sites such as the Sasanian capital of Ctesiphon, the famous caliphate capital of Samarra in Iraq, the Abbasid capital of Raqqah in Syria and the Mongolian summer palace of Takht-e Soleyman in Iran.
The Museum für Islamische Kunst places great importance on dialogue with colleagues around the world, and seeks to actively support their work by hosting visiting researchers. This is supported both through the Museum’s participation in funding programmes and through the cooperation projects it has initiated together with researchers in the regions from which the objects originate. Additionally, we carry out practice-led research work in the fields of museum education and participation. This research is intricately intertwined with the education and outreach work of the Museum. The outcomes of this research work are made accessible through publications, both in print and online.