Islamic Art Circle

The Islamic Art Circle at SOAS has evolved from an exclusive society, established in 1964 by collector Edmund de Unger, to a much more widely based one. The original society was intended to have no more than fifty members, a larger number was deemed to be too unwieldy, as there were no fixed venues. Two meetings took place at SOAS, arranged by Dr Geza Fehérvári, and thus began the society’s association with the school.

With gathering momentum more and more activities were organised, and in 1969 an exhibition was arranged comprised of some of the founder members’ early Islamic ceramics, entitled Islamic Pottery 800-1400AD, whose catalogue has become an invaluable source for students.

By 1970 SOAS had become the main venue for lectures. Successive SOAS teaching staff took on the role as chair organising monthly lectures during term time and inviting outside speakers to lecture on their current research, thus exposing students to extra-curricular opportunities to learn more around their subject and give them a chance to meet visiting academics. Several lectures are sponsored by generous collectors which allows us to invite speakers from further afield.

Islamic Art Circle lectures are open to paying members, personal and institutional, and all members of the SOAS community. It is membership fees that permit us to cover the cost of speakers’ lodging and transportation. We also organise guided tours of specific exhibitions and collections as well as circulating information to our mailing list on other Islamic art activities during the course of the year.