Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum is showcasing the development of the Yousef Jameel Online Centre for the study of Islamic and Eastern Art. Its progress can be viewed at http://jameelcentre.ashmolean.org/

The Yousef Jameel Online Centre will enable global access to the University of Oxford’s Islamic and Eastern Art Collections, enabling students and scholars at every level, as well as the general public, to access and interact with the collections online.

“The Yousef Jameel Online Centre aims to explore the artistic cultures of Asia collectively,” explained Christopher Brown, Director of the Ashmolean.

		© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

(Above) A dish decorated in yellowish lustre with a horseman against a heavily scrolled background, and a pseudo-calligraphic band around the border.

“By determining their similarities and differences, the user will learn that art from the Islamic world exists not in isolation, but alongside the other great Asian artistic traditions, from India to Japan.”

“We are extremely grateful to Mr Jameel for his support which will enable the Ashmolean to present these collections to a wider audience than ever before,” he added.

The collections encompass art from the Islamic world, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, China, Japan and Korea and are comprised of ceramics, textiles, sculpture, metalwork, paintings, prints and other arts.

© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

(Above) Talisman bracelet composite of three elements in an enamelled metallic setting, inscribed with the names of God.

The digitisation of the Islamic and Eastern Art collections for the Online Centre began in July 2007 and around 7,000 objects have been photographed so far with a selection viewable in the website's gallery.

The project is part of an ambitious £61 million redevelopment of the Ashmolean Museum, which is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

		This sinuous and graceful bronze from the Khmer kingdom of Cambodia depicts an apsaras, a celestial nymph or heavenly dancer in Hindu mythology. © Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford

The new design will double the existing gallery space, provide environmental control and create a dedicated Education Centre and conservation facilities.

The Yousef Jameel Online Centre for the Study of Islamic and Eastern Art will be launched in 2009, ahead of the opening of the new Ashmolean Museum in November of the same year.