This is the first time the Aga Khan’s collection has been exhibited in Germany. More than 200 masterpieces have been chosen to document more than one thousand years of cultural history. The works on display in Berlin’s Martin-Gropius-Bau are from the collection of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. Karim Aga Khan IV is the spiritualhead of the Ismaili Muslims. He is also regarded as a direct descendent of the Prophet Mohammed. His collection is considered to be one of the world’s largest and most valuable collections of Islamic art and will be housed from 2013 onwards in the new Aga Khan Museum in Toronto.
The Berlin exhibition will show some of the most important works of art from traditionally Islamic countries, including pages from the Persian heroic epic“Shahnama”, or “Book of Kings” by the poet Firdawsi.