A wide-ranging overview of Museum Folkwang’s magnificent collection, particularly its holdings in Islamicate art. 

A book that reveals the power of Islamicate art. In 1898 to 1899, before he began to collect Impressionist art, Karl Ernst Osthaus travelled from Algeria to Syria. By 1919, the Museum Folkwang in Essen, Germany, had assembled fascinating works of the Islamic world from the fourth to nineteenth centuries, including ceramics, textiles, glass, and metalwork from Iran, Syria, Egypt, and Spain—a treasure trove for design fans and admirers of Islamicate art. This volume opens up the scope and influence of this early European collection, reveals its diversity, and critically interrogates its holdings from a contemporary perspective. Works of classical modernism, European design, and contemporary pieces broaden the historical context.