Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia
Few weeks back my son told me that he would love to visit the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia (IAMM) as Mualim Fadzli (his Agama school teacher) told him about the Quran exhibition at the museum. And yesterday, the first day of 2nd term school holiday, my husband and I took him to IAMM. Frankly, me myself have been wanting to go for quite sometimes already to see the magnificent Islamic arts collection from around the world. I seriously do not why it took me so long to visit IAMM but I totally blame the there-is always-tomorrow attitude that I have in me. KL and Selangor has been my home for the past 33 years and it is shameful of me to visit less than 50% of the attractions. And for that matter, I am going to explore KL/Selangor this school holiday. Expect more jalan-jalan entries from me.
Admission to the museum is RM6 for student and RM12 for adult.
Established in 1998, IAMM has become one of the world’s leading museum dedicated to Islamic Arts. It houses more than 7000 artefacts from around the world, mostly from Persia and the Middle East as well as Southeast Asia; namely China, India and Malaysia. There all altogether 12 galleries here but below are some of my favourite galleries.
The Architecture Gallery. This permanent gallery showcases scale models of selected mosques in the effort to convey the splendour of Islamic architecture. These range from the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina to the Daxuexi Mosque in Xian, China. To give a more intimate impression of these sacred spaces, IAMM made the effort to re-create a mosque interior in this gallery. The exhibition is divided into 6 sections representing the major typological divisions of architecture erected within the Islamic lands. Al Haram Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque (Nabawi) are two that represents the sacred topographies. This followed by Religious and Funerary Architecture, Fortress and City, Palace, Garden and Pavilion& Tents.
The Prophet’s Mosque (Nabawi), Medina, saudi Arabia 7th Century AD. This mosque was constructed shortly after the Prophet (PBUH) migrated from Mecca to Medina in 622 AD.
Daxuexi Mosque, Xi’an, China, 684AD. This mosque was built during the Tang Dynasty. The mosque very much illustrates the Chinese architecture.
The Quran & Manuscript Gallery. I found that the Quran collection is amazing. Love the original exhibits of Quran and the stories of the use of media and the art behind it. Some of the Qurans here originated from Turkey, Iran, Java, Uzbezkistan, China, India and even Malaysia.
Al-Quran from Terengganu, Malaysia. 18th CenturyAD.
Quran leaf on vellum. Early kufic script, North Africa or Middle East, 750-800 AD. Contains Surah al-Araf, verses 157-161.
Textile Gallery. Collection here are mostly from the eastern end of Islam. The Safavids and Mughals were responsible for some of the greatest advances in the field. Elaborate woven silks and brilliant colour-fast dyes for cottons were hugely popular. Above all, the intricate plant motifs developed in Kashmir made their mark on the world, most notably as the shawls that were later copied by the workshops of Paisley in Scotland.
Textiles were used for decorative as well as sartorial purposes. With the nomadic origins of so many of Islam’s ruling dynasties, it was inevitable that they would continue to value the portability of textiles. For the rest of society, nostalgia played a smaller part than practicality. With a general scarcity of wood, woven products were the obvious choice for wall and floor coverings.
Here are some of my favourites:
I am really happy to visit IAMM. When asked which galleries he likes the most, Yassin told me that he likes The Quran Gallery and the Arms & Armour Gallery. Other galleries here include Jewellery, Arms & Armour, Living with Wood, Coins & Seals, Metalwork and Ceramic & Glassware. While facilities include Children’s Library, Museum Shop, Museum Restaurant, Fountain Garden and many more. For convenience of visitors, IAMM provides postal services. Admission for student is RM6 and adult RM12. Free for children below 6. IAMM open from Monday to Sunday as well as public holidays from 10am to 6pm.
Go check Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow. Or the day after that. But please don’t take 14 years to visit like me.
44 Comments
soulie
Choppp!
soulie
Wohooo i’m the first one!
soulie
I have that there-is always-tomorrow attitude! lol!
soulie
duduk dekat KL pon banyak tmpt tak discover lagi
soulie
like menara KL -.- sib baik recently made an effort to go to KL bird park!
soulie
klcc bridge pon tak penah naik! kak emi dah penah naik?
soulie
interesting jugak IAMM nie! masuk dalam checklist 🙂
marvic
wahhh.. at this hour me in dreamy land edi tau
marvic
kena pegi taman bunga orchid lg
marvic
me dah pegi ke museum ni.. sekali masa majlis berbuka puasa company and sekali masa pegi photo shoot kat situ with friends
Insyirah
nice place 🙂
^w^
Syuq
mak ayah saya baru sampai dari umrah semalam… kali ketiga mereka ke sana dan banyak kerja pembangunan di Mekah.
Syuq
Awal Marvic tido rupanyaaa.. :p
marvic
beauty sleep is important.. hahaha
marvic
me going back tomorrow and still the numbers is not going up yet
marvic
hati gundah gulana la kalo gini.. 🙁
marvic
plan nak doublekan the number
marvic
tp mcm x dpt jugakkk
azah
cantiknya museum tu.
azah
dapat take pictures, mesti kak emi happy sangat. ada museum tak kasik amek gambar
azah
saya frust gi museum kota tinggi, tak leh ambil gambar…arr
azah
Benda2 cantik camni dan bersejarah ni mesti nak ambil gambar! 😛
Syuq
ye laaaaaa :p
azah
yup! hahaha
Syuq
😀
soulie
wahh buat photoshoot here?
soulie
alhamdulillah dah slamat sampai 🙂
soulie
ohooo no wonder lah u naikkan the number! hehe dapat punyer lah
soulie
betol2! ada museum tak bagi amik gambar.
soulie
how to blog about it like that kan
soulie
tepaksa amik gambar kat internet jer
azah
me tak suka ambil gambar internet
azah
ambil gambar sendiri satu kepuasan 😀
Syuq
a aaa.. tapi selsema dan batuk lah..
Syuq
banyak sangat constructions.. berdebu dan panas
Syuq
azah memang suka sejarah kan 🙂
azah
yes. sejarah jadi inspirasi cipta seni hehe
azah
😀
mazny
Agreed! 🙂
mazny
Anybody knows the reason for not allowing photograpy in a museum?
mazny
I have been here, Kak Em. Cantik, kan?
mazny
Yeah, I was surprise to see how beautiful those old Qurans.
mazny
I love the details and designs on those from Middle East and India!
mazny
Have you tried the restaurant?