Museum Collections Themed Installation: Birds

Take flight on a journey through the ages as you encounter fascinating sights and stories

January 30–September 17, 2023

This event has passed

Parts of the gallery are refreshed twice a year with themed installations that explore special topics and allow light-sensitive materials to rest.

Page Navigation

The Museum Collections Gallery of the Aga Khan Museum is dedicated to showcasing the artistic achievements and lasting legacies of Muslim civilizations between the 9th and 19th centuries, from as far afield as Spain in the west and China in the east, as well as the interventions by contemporary artists that spark dialogue between the past and present.

Birds

June to January 2023

Take flight on a journey through the ages as you encounter fascinating sights and stories within the Aga Khan Museum’s newest themed installation: Birds.

The Birds rotation features masterpieces from the Museum’s Permanent Collection that evoke the splendour of the avian world – from a luxurious silk robe to paintings and ancient artifacts.

Birds have long played an important role in the Muslim world, being cherished as messengers, companions, indicators of seasonal change, sources of nutritional and medical remedies, subjects of domestic and courtly sports and amusement, and even political gifts. The multifaceted presence of birds in human lives has also made them significant symbols in mythology, religion, folklore, cultural traditions, and the arts associated with them.

Drawing showing the fondness of the Mughal emperor for natural scenes. A variety of more than 20 different large and small birds, including peacocks, a turkey, mallard ducks, an ostrich, and a flamingo are depicted in this tinted single-page drawing of a landscape with trees, hills, and small buildings that suggest a village.

Within the larger Birds rotation, you’ll find featured installations, including The Golden Cage by contemporary artist Hakan Topal and an installation by British painter Elizabeth Gwillim, which examines the transformation of natural history studies in India between the 1600s and 1800s, by pairing five life-size watercolour paintings with four paintings from the Museum’s Permanent Collection.

Birds in Dialogue is presented in partnership with The Gwillim Project, an international research network funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, in collaboration with Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University.

Visit The Gwillim Project and The Golden Cage in 3D!