After being on my to-do list for two months, I finally went to the L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art on the last Tuesday of our stay. There are nine different galleries listed on our visitor’s map in chronological order, however, two of the rooms were temporarily closed. In addition to the different forms of Islamic art during the Muslim period, the museum houses a watch and clock collection, called The Sir David Solomon’s Collection of Clocks and Watches. Next to this collection is an new exhibit called “Between Sorrow and Beauty” by Fatima Abu Romi. I wandered around only two of the three floors of the museum because I was pressed for time.
The “Between Sorrow & Beauty” collection contained many portraits of both women and men. Almost every portrait and piece in this collection contained a veil. The exhibition makes parallels between the pain, barriers, and oppression placed on women, but also the feminity and lack of masculinity of veils and hijabs. There were several men that were depicted wearing a veil or with a veil drawn across the canvas. I spent the most time in this room.
A man’s silhouette.
Photo from the L.A. Mayer Museum website
The watch and clocks gallery is situated in a dark room. Clocks are housed behind glass cases and pocket watches suspended from above. The metals of the pocket watches illuminate in the room. This part of the museum is very out of place with the rest of the museum, as it features timekeepers with no connection or clear association with Islamic horology or even Islamic art. The room’s set up and environment is very different from the rest of the museum as well. As Justin informed the group previously, the museum’s Islamic art collection is meager, so I was not entirely surprised to find a small collection. But it is unfortunate, as Islam has a noticeable influence on and in Jerusalem.
Mary Ann