Love stories from the medieval Middle East

The curator’s role

Idit Sharoni begins by explaining the work of a curator. According to her, the curator is responsible for the museum’s treasures. Most of the museum’s collection, about 80 to 90 percent of the items, is kept in a vault under optimal conditions to ensure its preservation for generations. The temporary exhibitions are an opportunity to show the public treasures that are not on permanent display, and to build a narrative around them that the curator wishes to convey.

The “Love Stories” exhibition

The idea for the exhibition, Sharoni says, came from studying the magnificent manuscripts in the museum’s collection. These manuscripts, the earliest of which in the exhibition dates to 1506, include poetic writing, calligraphy, and tiny paintings called miniatures. The collection of the Museum for Islamic Art is considered one of the finest in the world, and it was assembled in the 1960s by Professor Richard Ettinghausen for the museum’s founder, Vera Bryce Salomons. The most magnificent manuscripts were created in royal court workshops, mainly during the Safavid period, where teams of professionals worked: calligraphers, illustrators, gilders, and bookbinders.

Depictions of figures in Islamic art

Boris asks how the tradition of painting human figures in manuscripts aligns with the prohibition on creating figurative images in Islam. Sharoni clarifies that there was a clear separation: in religious contexts, the prohibition was strictly observed. In contrast, in secular literature, like the love stories presented in the exhibition, artists had the freedom to paint human figures and courtly scenes. These manuscripts also often served as diplomatic gifts, hence the great splendor invested in them.

The mystical dimension of love

The exhibition presents four great love stories from the lands of Islam. These stories, which originally traveled orally through storytellers, received mystical and spiritual interpretations when they reached the Persian poets. According to Sharoni, some of the poets, like Nizami, were not Sufis themselves but incorporated deep esoteric layers into their works. Later poets, like Jami, already gave the stories a distinctly Sufi interpretation.

Yusuf and Zulaikha: Earthly and spiritual love

One of the central stories is “Yusuf and Zulaikha” by Jami, based on the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife. In Jami’s Sufi version, the story describes Zulaikha’s earthly and desperate love for Yusuf, but at the same time symbolizes the believer’s journey of suffering on the path to union with God. Ultimately, after Zulaikha grows old and renounces her idols, Yusuf sees her inner beauty and they are united. The exhibition displays a miniature depicting their union, alongside a video work by the artist Nurit Yitzhak that gives it a contemporary interpretation.

Love, madness, and death

The connection between love, madness, and death is a central theme in the story of “Layla and Majnun”. Qays falls in love with Layla, but they are forbidden to marry. Overcome with grief, he loses his sanity, hence his nickname Majnun, meaning madman. He flees to the desert and lives a life of asceticism. In the Sufi interpretation, Majnun’s journey is an allegory for the mystic’s journey, who sheds the pleasures of the material world to achieve spiritual union with the object of his love. At the end of the story, Layla dies of grief, and Majnun dies on her grave. A miniature in the exhibition depicts their embrace after death, symbolizing the perfect divine union.

European influences and making the stories accessible

Sharoni notes that by the 16th century, European influence on the art is already apparent. The exhibition features miniatures by artists like Reza Abbasi, who worked independently for a European audience. Their style is freer and more naturalistic, and they focus on depicting the feeling of love and not just the story’s narrative.

To make the stories accessible, which were originally written as long, rhyming Persian poetry, the exhibition incorporates short videos. In each video, the actor Gadi Weissbart plays a traditional storyteller and recounts the essence of one of the stories in Hebrew. This way, the audience can understand the narrative before they approach the miniatures. Alongside the manuscripts, objects from the period are also displayed, such as wine goblets and perfume bottles, which enhance the sensory experience. According to Sharoni, the exhibition seeks to offer the audience a moment of respite and escape, and to show the comforting power of love and story.