The David Collection presents its most extensive special exhibition since the museum reopened in 2009.
SHAHNAMA - The Colorful Epic About Iran's Past
March 18, 2016
A special exhibition displaying miniature paintings from the Iranian national epic Shanama
Why the Shahnama?
The Shahnama (The Book of Kings) is world literature. It has been a “classic” for centuries, especially in the Persian-speaking parts of the world, but also in India, Turkey, and the Middle East. Even in Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S.A., the old text has been translated and exhibitions of the epic’s countless illustrations have been held in recent years.
The Shahnama was written by the Iranian poet Firdawsi and finished in the year 1010. In his enormous work – probably the world’s longest poem, with over 50,000 verses – he recounted the story of Iran from a bygone mythical era to the 7th century, when Arab armies overran the ancient kingdom. As in the works of Saxo Grammaticus and Homer and in fairytales, the Shahnama combines history, thrilling narratives, dramatic battle scenes, and love stories that often have no happy ending. The epic has always been exceedingly popular in the Persian-speaking part of the Islamic world and still plays an important role as a national symbol in Iran.
Not many people in Denmark have heard of the Shahnama. This exhibition aims at remedying the situation.
A National Identity
Interest in Iran and Iranian culture is growing. The Persia of the past and present-day Iran can in many ways be seen from the same sense of selfhood. Firdawsi’s aim was to create a magnificent and indelible picture of ancient Persia, a national identity that he and the aristocracy of which he was part could be proud of. Because of its distinctiveness, it rejected the culture and history of the invading Muslim rulers. The Shahnama is consequently world history seen from an Iranian perspective, a polemic for a national identity and an age of glory before the advent of Islam. Since it was written in Persian, it was also a revolt against the alien Arabic language. There are conspicuously few Arabic loan words in the work, despite the fact that there were many in the Persian language during the author’s day. The content of the epic moreover does not conform to the historiography of the Koran.
Universal Themes
The Shahnama deals with themes that are universal and still valid today: friendship and enmity, freedom and tyranny, love and hate – to name just a few. The contrasts between these dualities are rarely unequivocal, however, since there are many reasons for the ways in which the heroes and villains of the Shahnama act. The work is full of good stories and legends about heroes and supernatural beings of the kinds found in The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, for example. In addition, the Shahnama has been the source of inspiration for works of art that still exert a great power of attraction.
The Paintings
The paintings form the core of the exhibition. Instead of focusing on their context in art history, the exhibition follows the chronology in the Shahnama – from the creation of the world to the conquest of Iran by the Muslim Arabs. This progression is illustrated from start to finish with works from the David Collection. The majority of the paintings are from Iran, but some also come from India and Turkey. The motifs in the Shahnama are part of a pictorial tradition that can be followed from generation to generation. Examples are “Siyawush’s Trial by Fire,” where the young prince rides through a sea of flames, and “The Court of Gayumarth,” which describes a world at the dawn of time when man and beast lived in harmony with one another and with nature. Some illustrations from the Shahnama have achieved iconic status and are among the most famous Persian paintings today.
The Exhibition
This special exhibition gives the public a unique opportunity to experience an ancient, exotic, and dramatic world in pictures. The stories are played out through nearly 60 works of art, in addition to a display of weapons. Visitors will be able to study details in the miniatures with a magnifying glass. All the captions are in Danish and English. Apart from one miniature, which is on loan, all of the works of art are from the David Collection’s own holdings.
A fully illustrated catalogue in Danish and English editions with articles on several aspects of the Shahnama epic will be published in conjunction with the exhibition.
A reception will be held on Thursday, March 17th, from 4 to 6 p.m. to mark the opening of the exhibition. Members of the press who wish to attend the reception should contact the museum’s head of communications, Sonja Wiesener, at [email protected] for an invitation.
On April 13th at 7 p.m., David’s Bazaar will feature a lecture in Danish about the exhibition by Peter Wandel, with the sensual title “Violent Beauty.”
Tickets at DKR 50 can be bought at billetlugen.dk; click here for more information.
There will be free guided tours of the special exhibition during the museum’s opening hours. See the spring program for guided tours here.
Selected artworks
More press
2/2/2025
Curator of Art from the islamic World
Application deadline: 2 February 2025 at 10:00 PM (GMT+1)
The David Collection is looking for a skilled and dedicated curator to join the curatorial team responsible for managing our distinguished collection of art from the Islamic world. If you are passionate about the arts and cultures of the Islamic world and enthusiastic about engaging audiences through exhibitions, publications and research activities, we encourage you to apply.
About the museum
The David Collection is a private museum located in central Copenhagen which houses one of the world’s finest collections of art from the Islamic world as well as an exquisite collection of early modern Danish art and European art from the 17th-19th centuries. The museum was founded by the Danish lawyer and avid art collector Christian Ludvig David (1878–1960) and is today owned and operated by the C. L. David Foundation.
Since the 1960s, the collection of art from the Islamic world has continually expanded through new acquisitions, and today it comprises more than 3,000 works of art from across the Islamic world, created between the 7th and 19th centuries. The collection covers a broad range of categories, including miniature painting, calligraphy, ceramics, textiles, metalwork, glass and woodcarving. In addition to being showcased in an extensive permanent display across two floors, these works of art are also presented through temporary thematic exhibitions and explored in detail in the scholarly Journal of The David Collection.
About the position
The David Collection is a small but dedicated institution with a flat organisational structure that encourages initiative as well as collaboration across departments and fields of expertise.
As a curator you will join two curatorial colleagues and our director in caring for the art historical management of the Islamic collection. You will also be working closely with our curator of Danish and European art, our conservator, registrar and librarian as well as our department of communication and technical staff.
Responsibilities and duties
· Maintaining and developing the permanent Islamic exhibition.
· Organising thematic exhibitions.
· Writing informative and engaging texts about Islamic art, spanning from objects labels to articles for exhibition catalogues and academic journals.
· Producing content for our website and digital platforms.
· Conducting research related to possible new acquisitions.
· Studying and cataloguing new acquisitions and organising their integration into the permanent exhibition.
· Participating in the training of new student assistants for The David Collection’s educational programme.
· Responding to correspondence related to the collection and assisting visiting colleagues and researchers.
· Editing and contributing to the scholarly Journal of The David Collection.
· Giving lectures as part of our event programme David’s Bazar.
Prerequisites:
· A Ph.D. degree within a relevant field of study, e.g. Islamic Art history, Islamic Archaeology, Islamic studies or Islamic History.
· Reading proficiency in at least one of the following languages: Arabic, Persian or Ottoman Turkish.
· High proficiency in English as a written and spoken language.
· Proficiency in Danish or willingness to learn Danish within the first two years of employment.
· Work experience from related institutions (preferable).
What we offer
You will become a part of a highly motivated team dedicated to caring for an outstanding collection of fine art in the heart of Copenhagen. As a curator you will be able to work directly with the objects of the Islamic collection and make use of our rich research library to expand your knowledge of the field. You will also be encouraged to share this knowledge through publications as well as through public lectures.
Application and further details:
Start of employment: as soon as possible.
The position is a full-time permanent position of 37 hours per week with fixed working hours. Salary and conditions in accordance with the collective agreement for academics in Danish state employment. The position also includes pension and employee benefits.
The position is based at The David Collection in Copenhagen. You will therefore be expected to be located within daily commuting distance of the museum.
Application (in English or Danish), resumé, a list of publications and contact information for two references should be submitted in the form of a single document in .doc or .pdf-format sent to [email protected] with ‘Curator of art from the Islamic World’ in the subject heading. The deadline for submission is 2 February 2025, at 10:00 PM (GMT+1).
We expect to hold the first round of interviews in-person at The David Collection in February of 2025
If you have questions about the position, please contact Director Joachim Meyer at [email protected] or by calling +45 33 73 49 49. Additional information can also be found on our website www.davidmus.dk
1/2/2025
Bibliotekar søges
Davids Samling er et privat, fondsejet museum beliggende i hjertet af København, som huser en af verdens fineste samlinger af kunst fra den islamiske verden såvel som nyere dansk og ældre europæisk kunst og kunsthåndværk. I relation hertil rummer museet også et bibliotek og arkivsamlinger.
Biblioteket, der bestyres af en enkelt bibliotekar, er et specialbibliotek for islamisk kunst (ca. 11.000 titler), men der er også mindre emnegrupper relateret til museets øvrige samlinger. Det er et præcensbibliotek fordelt over flere rum og etager og uden adgang for brugere udefra. Biblioteket rummer litteratur på dansk, engelsk, tysk, fransk, spansk, noget italiensk, græsk, russisk, tyrkisk og mindre på arabisk, persisk m.m.
Om dig
Du er en positiv person, der ud over kærlighed til bøger også interesserer dig for ældre kunst og kultur – og gerne for den islamiske verden. Du har bibliotekserfaring og har måske arbejdet på en kulturinstitution. Du er empatisk og er vant til at indgå i et arbejdsmiljø med mange fagligheder.
Du vil i biblioteket komme til at beskæftige dig med
- - Indsamling/bestilling via gennemgang af boghandler- og forlagslister, katalogisering og systemplacering af litteratur inden for museets emneområder samt bistå de ansatte i deres søgning.
- - Evt. forbedring af den anvendte systematik samt organisering og nyopstilling af bogsamlingen.
- - Registrering i museets database af publiceringer af museets genstande.
- - Registrering af museets forskelligartede arkivmateriale.
- - Indlægning i database af de digitale etikettetekster (på dansk og engelsk).
- - Korrekturlæsning af museets tekster og publikationer, på både dansk og engelsk.
- - Vikar som ”postmester” på museumsmailen. Evt. andet, museumsfagligt arbejde.
Vi forventer, at du er
- - Bibliotekar D.B. eller Cand.scient.bibl. eller har anden relevant uddannelse.
- - at du har sproglig viden om dansk, engelsk, helst også tysk og fransk. Kendskab til visse andre sprog vil også være en fordel.er god til korrekturlæsning på dansk og engelsk.
- - kan katalogisere i bibliotekssystemet Reindex.
- - kan arbejde selvstændigt og sammen med andre.
- - er fleksibel i forhold til arbejdsopgavernes skiftende karakter.
- - er i rimelig god fysisk form, da arbejdet involverer nogen gang på trapper.
Om os
Som bibliotekar bliver du en del af en spændende og dynamisk arbejdsplads, hvor der er ressourcer til at tænke ambitiøst og langsigtet. Du kommer til at arbejde tæt sammen med engagerede kolleger, som alle nærer stor kærlighed til museet og samlingerne. Hverdagen hos os er kendetegnet ved godt humør og høje ambitioner udfoldet i smukke omgivelser. Vi er en mindre organisation, og vi løfter i flok.
Ansættelsesvilkår
Stillingen er en fuldtidsstilling, som forventes besat pr. 1. marts 2025. Løn efter kompetencer og erfaring.
Ansøgningsfrist 2. januar 2025 kl. 12.
Første samtale forventes afholdt d. 21. og 22. januar
Ansøgning, cv og relevante bilag stiles til [email protected], i emnefeltet: Bibliotekar.
Har du spørgsmål, er du velkommen til inden 20.12 at ringe eller skrive til Nana Kloster Lund: 33734949, eller [email protected].
4/19/2024
Mere end Ord. Kalligrafi fra den islamiske verden.
Fra den 24. maj kan du gå på opdagelse i den islamiske kalligrafi som kunstart og dens historie, når Davids Samling åbner dørene til særudstillingen ”Mere end ord – kalligrafi fra den islamiske verden”. Og titlen skal tages helt bogstaveligt, for ordene og de smukke bogstaver antager flere betydninger.
4/27/2023
Samlerens Valg
Fra den 12. maj viser Davids Samling en udstilling med nyere dansk kunst, primært købt af C.L. David selv.