ANN ARBOR — A medieval Egyptian water filter decorated with a prancing rabbit is just one of many intriguing objects in the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology’s upcoming special exhibition, “Pearls of Wisdom: The Arts of Islam at the University of Michigan”, opening October 15. 

Other objects range from medieval cut-glass cosmetics containers to an ethereal modern painting that layers different Arabic letterforms over each other. Together, the 82 artifacts in the exhibition capture the richness and diversity of the university’s Islamic collections, embracing textiles, paintings, and illuminated manuscripts as well as works in ceramic, glass, metal, and wood. 

“Pearls of Wisdom” takes its title from the writings of the medieval calligrapher Abu Hayyan al-Tawhidi, who, in his treatise on penmanship, equates the calligrapher’s art of beautiful writing to that of a jeweler stringing pearls. 

You can visit the Kelsey Museum from Oct. 15 to Dec. 21, as it explores issues central to the conception and production of Islamic art over the last fifteen centuries. Admission is free.

For more information, visit www.lsa.umich.edu/Kelsey.