Prince Amr Ibrahim's palace is the first museum for Islamic pottery in the Middle East
Egypt, History, 11/18/2000

Prince Amr Ibrahim's palace is the first museum for Islamic pottery in the Middle East. Prince Amr Ibrahim's palace in the island of Zamalek, which is a jewel of Islamic architecture, has been transformed lately into the first museum for Islamic pottery in the Middle East as the palace holds now the name of "Al-Gezeira Center for Arts".

The idea of establishing such a museum came, as the head of the National Center for Plastic Arts Dr. Ahmed Nawar says, as a necessary step due to objective impulses coinciding with modernizing Al-Gezeira Center and considering the relation between the Egyptian civilization and pottery since pre-historic days.

The structure of the palace also had a great help in transforming this idea into reality. The walls and ceilings of the palace are covered with wonderful Islamic ornaments which are in harmony with the exhibited works of art.

The ceramic tiles glow on the walls with their red, yellow and dark blue colors. The mantelpieces which are also constructed in the Islamic style glow with warm ornaments topped by phrases written in Kufic Arabic such as "No conqueror but Allah", "a valuable blessing" and "A right blessing".

The walls and ceilings are filled with stucco ornaments interrelated by branches and leaves stirring the feelings of beauty in us. Here, beauty is linked to magic where items of pottery are embracing the ornaments of the structure.

The museum includes 116 pieces of the Egyptian style in different periods whether Umayaad, Fatimide, Ayubide, or Mamluke.

There are also 118 pieces of the Turkish style, 25 pieces of the Syrian style, one of the Tunisian style and another of the Moorish style.

The items of pottery are covered with various motifs related to the worlds of plants, animals etc. Some influence of chinaware is also apparent. Different colors, with their shades, are also used.

All these items reflect the internal peace of mind and firm faith of the Muslim potter. Thus, Islamic art was and still is a point of reference for world artists. Hence, the renowned painter Mattis acknowledged that he borrowed the colors of Islamic works of art when he visited "The Museum of Islamic Art" held in Munich in 1903. These colors were used so extensively in his paintings that he was called the greatest color-user in the 20th century.

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