Art Informant

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Corinne Muehlemann, Assistant Professor and Chair of the History of Textile Arts at the Institute of Art History in the University of Bern. Corinne is one of the rare specialists of silks produced during the Middle-Ages in the Islamic lands, especially in Iran and Spain. In the episode, she talks about striped silks produced in Iran under the Ilkhanid dynasty (1256-1335...

In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Vincent Thérouin, PhD candidate in Islamic archaeology in the university of Paris Sorbonne. Vincent works on a little-known topic: Ottoman Bosnia between the 15th and 17th centuries, and more particularly on the urbanisation of the region and the development of cities such as Sarajevo. In the episode, he talks about the process of founding cities, the Otto...

In today’s episode, we are getting the behind the scenes of an auction house opening with Beatrice Campi and Tomas Jose Aznar Gonzales, founders and directors of Aznar auction, a brand new auction house opened in 2024 and dedicated to Arts of the World, Luxury and Lifestyle, as well as Wines and Spirits. Beatrice is specialised in Indian and Islamic art, and the first ever returning guest on this...

 Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Richard McClary, Senior lecturer in Islamic art history at the University of York. Throughout his career, Richard has published extensively on artistic and architectural productions across the Islamic world. In July 2024, his latest monograph was published at Edinburgh university press, titled “ Mina’i Ware: A Reassessment and Comprehensive Study of Iranian Polychrome...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Fuchsia Hart, Sarikhani Curator for the Iranian Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Fuchsia is an art historian specialised in the artistic productions of 19th century Iran, ruled by the Qajar dynasty between 1789 and 1925, and particularly on the reign of Fath 'Ali Shah Qajar, who reigned from 1797 till 1834. His patronage is known to us today thr...

In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Nur Sobers-Khan, doctor in Islamic studies and curator of Islamic arts. Nur started working in curation immediately after getting her Ph. D. in 2012, and has since worked in several collections, looking at Islamic manuscripts, but also objects and archival material. Her various experiences constitute a great opportunity to learn more about the different la...

In today’s episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Suzanne Compagnon, post-doctoral fellow at the university of Utrecht. Suzanne recently got her Ph. D. from the University of Vienna with a thesis focused on Turkish Ottoman painting, and more specifically on the single-page figures produced by the painters Levni and Bukhari in the first quarter of the 18th century. Ottoman painting in general has not...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Pr Stephane Pradines, Professor of Islamic Art, Architecture and Archaeology at the Aga Khan University in London. Stephanes is an archaeologist with a particular expertise on Sub-Saharan Africa, a large region that is being discussed for the first time on this podcast, and for today the Swahili coast in the East. In the episode, they talk about Stephane’s past and ongoing...

For the 2 years anniversary of the ART Informant podcast, I welcome... myself. A very special host comes in to ask me questions about my newly released children's book, La Tortue et les Deux Canards , et autres fables de La Fontaine de source arabe , published at Versant Sud Jeunesse. We also talk about the podcast, of course, how and why it started, how it is going, and where I hope to take...

In today’s episode, we take a step aside from Islamic & Indian art history to welcome Alexander Herman, director of the Institute of Art & Law in London. Alexander is specialised in the complex legislation of art and cultural heritage, and has recently published The Parthenon Marble dispute: Heritage, Law, Politics (Bloomsbury). In the episode, he offers the most valuable introduction to c...

For the 30th episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert travels to mediaeval Spain with Dr Mariam Rosser-Owen, curator of the Middle Eastern Section in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Al-Andalus, Muslim Spain and Portugal, is particularly recognised for its rich production of carved ivory objects and its architecture, which Mariam and Isabelle talk about at length in the episode. They also disc...

In this episode of the ART Informant, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Amanda Phillips, Associate Professor of Islamic Art and Material Culture at the University of Virginia. Amanda specialises in the consumption and trade of textiles in Ottoman Türkiye. It is the topic of her latest book: Sea Change: Ottoman Textiles between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean , published in 2021 (University of Cal...

In the episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Bharti Lalwani, art critic and perfume maker, and Dr Nicolas Roth, visual librarian at Harvard University Library, gardener and historian of horticultural knowledge and practices in India. Bharti and Nicolas have collaborated on an online exhibition: Bagh-e Hind , the Garden of India, a unique project combining art history and perfume making to recreate sme...

In today’s episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Hiba Abid, doctor in Islamic Arts History and curator for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies in the New York Public Library. Isabelle and Hiba have known each other for a long time, so it was time to catch up on the topics that passionate Hiba, in particular the history of manuscripts production in the Muslim West, a region still often ignored. Hiba is...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Valentina Bruccoleri, doctor in Chinese art history and postdoctoral researcher of the Marco Polo Centre for Global Europe-Asia Connections at the university of Venice. Valentina is a specialist of Chinese ceramic, and more precisely, she specialises in the artistic interactions between the Persian dynasties of the Timurid (1370-1507) and Safavid (1501-1722), and the Chine...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Eleonore Cellard, researcher in early Qur'anic manuscripts and specialist in codicology and palaeography. She holds a Ph. D. from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris and have been working ever since on uncovering the secrets of the oldest Quranic manuscripts. In the episode, they talk about when and how the Qur’an was put into writings and the characteris...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Daniel Newman, professor at Durham University, specialist of Arabic language and literature and passionate about Medieval Arabic cooking books and culinary tradition. For years, Daniel has been recreated Medieval recipes, especially from the " Garden flowers in elegant food" ( Zahr al-ḥadīqa fi ‘l-aṭʿima al-anīqa ), written by Shihāb al-Dīn Aḥmad Ibn Mubārak Shāh...

 In the first episode of 2023, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Sterenn Le Maguer, archaeologist and specialist of the history of incense trade in the Islamic world before the 16th century. Sterenn is what we could call an archaeologist of smells, but she’s also the first archaeologist to come on the podcast, so in the episode, we talk about methodology and techniques of archaeology, but also of smell...

In the last episode of 2022, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Nilosree Biswas, Indian filmmaker and writer, author of Banaras: Of Gods, Humans and Stories and Alluring Kashmir: The Inner Spirit, as well as her latest book, Calcutta on your plate. Nilos grew up in Calcutta and has an intimate knowledge of its culinary cuisine, but through her book, she writes the history and tells the story of colonialism,...

This episode is part 2 of the interview with Dr Rachel Parikh, doctor in Islamic and Indian art history and curator specialised in arms and armours. In Part 1, her and the host, Dr Isabelle Imbert talked about her career as an art historian, her research on the Falnama manuscript in the Khalili collection, and her shift to curating. In this episode, they continue their conversation and focus on ar...

In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Rachel Parikh, doctor in Islamic and Indian art history and curator specialised in arms and armours. Rachel and Isabelle started talking and didn’t see the time go by, ending up with a very long episode. After a vote on Instagram, it was decided that the episode would be divided in two, Part 1 focusing on Rachel’s career, her research on the Falnama man...

 In this episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Esra Alhamal, doctor in design and visual artist specialised in Islamic illumination. Esra has been researching and creating biomorphic patterns for many years, as well as teaching the art of illumination in London and creating her own paint with natural pigment from a Medieval recipe. In the episode, we talk about her artistic practice, as well as her...

In today’s episode, Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Firuza Melville, director of research of Cambridge Shahnama centre for Persian Studies and eminent specialist of the Persian poet Firdausi (c. 933-1020) and his Shahnama , the book of kings telling the epic history of Iran before Islam. The text was illustrated many times, including under the reign of Safavid ruler Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524-76). His manu...

Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Melanie Gibson, Art Historian specialised in Islamic ceramics, editor of the art history series at Ginkgo library, and board member and scientific advisor of the Leighton House in London. Melanie has been involved in teaching, research and edition for many years and has a wealth of experience to share. She has also participated in the restoration of the Arab hall in the...

For the first episode of Season 2, Dr Isabelle Imbert welcomes Dr Mehreen Chida-Razvi, in-house editor and deputy curator in the Khalili collection of Islamic Arts, and specialist of Mughal architecture. The Mughal empire reigns between 1526 and 1857 on a territory that encompass, at its peak, modern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, parts of Afghanistan, parts of Tibet, so talking about Mughal archite...