Fellows of Harvard Art Museums Visit the School

One of the highlights of the Summer Term was the visit of the Fellows of the Harvard Art Museums. We were very pleased to welcome the Fellows, along with the Director of the Museums, Tom Lentz, and the Curator of Islamic and Later Indian Art, Mary McWilliams, to the School.

Their visit to London was busy with appointments at London museums to view collections, but at The Prince’s School they were offered an opportunity to experience how Islamic art is made. They were led through sessions in geometry and pattern building, Islimi, and calligraphy to demonstrate how these three languages work together to create pieces of Islamic art.

Although many of the Fellows had a good knowledge of traditional techniques and methods through previous study, the chance to hold the brush or pen and work with pigments allowed them to know Islamic art in a new way offering an enriched understanding of the works of art and the work of artists.

We hope that a shared interest in materials, methods and experience-based learning can provide the basis for further development of the relationship between the two institutions in the years ahead.