Islamic Art exhibitions in Eastern Europe after World War 2

The present study aims to shed some light on the collecting and display of Islamic art in Hungaryin the 1950s. Although economic, political, and cultural conditions – not to mention the religiousimplications –, all seem to have been discouraging the promotion of these kinds of exhibitions,such events could still be realised during the first and most repressive decade of CommunistHungary. This was partly a consequence of the recent flow of collections from private hands intopublic collections which made a relatively large amount of material suddenly available. At least asdecisive, however, was the broad Cold War setting, which in the 1950s unexpectedly revalued thepreviously marginalised areas of Islamic art and archaeology. Despite the narrow and haphazardrange of Islamic objects, the official cultural policy was able through their display, without mucheffort, to simultaneously create a sense of cultural thaw for the domestic audience, and, forinternational observers, to express a willingness to reach out to the world beyond Europe: all ofthis in strict alignment with Soviet directives. The complex task required suitable professionalsfrom both a scientific and a political point of view. An overview of these exhibitions and thebackground of their creation will be attempted in the essay.

Islamic Art exhibitions in Eastern Europe after World War 2 Keywords:

Cold War , Egypt , Exhibitions , Hungary , Islamic Art , Yugoslavia