Welcome to The Museum For Islamic Art

The world-renowned Sir David Salomons collection contains more than 180 watches and clocks. This important, beautiful and rare collection came into being thanks to Sir David’s knowledge of horology and to his prosperity. The collection’s most significant and special timepieces are the ground-breaking group of clocks by Abraham Louis Breguet (1747-1823). The inventor of some of the greatest technological innovations in modern watch-making, Breguet was among the most influential individuals in modern horology. Most of the watches that were returned to the Museum were made by Breguet, including watch number 160, known as the "Marie Antoinette".

Photograph: Avshalom Avital		Photograph: Avshalom Avital		Photograph: Avshalom Avital
Photograph: Daniela Golan		Eight-day timepiece England, c. 1790 Gold and enamel Photograph: Avshalom Avital		Quarter repeating watch for the Turkish market Le Roy, Paris, c. 1840 Gold and enamel Photograph: Avshalom Avital

Sir David Salomons wrote in his catalogue of Breguet's clocks: "To carry a fine Breguet watch is to feel that you have the brains of a genius in your pocket."
Alongside the 55 items in the Breguet group, Sir David’s collection includes a group of automaton clocks as well as gold musical snuff boxes adorned with enamel pictures, pearls and diamonds. These are the works of renowned 19th-century craftsmen, particularly in Switzerland. The collection also features a selection of scientific instruments, such as barometric compasses, sundials and telescopes from the 17th to the 19th centuries, as well as an interesting group of clocks manufactured in the 19th century in Europe for the Turkish market.

Now available: "The Art of Time" – the new exhibition catalogue of the David Salomons Collection of Watches and Clocks. The English/Hebrew catalogue contains 168 pages, many color plates, illustrations and a glossary of terms.

L.A. Mayer Museum for Islamic Art, Jerusalem, 2009
Price: $ 35
Order the catalogue

The Museum’s permanent collections constitute one of the most important exhibitions of Islamic art in the world. The collections represent the various period of Islamic rule, from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries CE. The exhibits present the numerous styles that characterized the different dynasties, from the first Umayyad caliphs to the Ottoman period, which marks the end of the Muslim Empire. The Museum’s exhibition halls are arranged in chronological and geographical order, in accordance with the various dynasties.

The collections include archeological finds from the Umayyad period and objets d’art from the Abbasid, Seljuk, Fatimid, Mamluk, Mongol, Timurid, Safavid, Kajari, Moghul and Ottoman periods. A special section of the Museum is devoted to the jeweler’s art; it contains a collection of jewelry from all parts of the Empire. The collections show the visitor the great diversity which exists in Islamic art: Decorated manuscripts with beautiful calligraphy, embroidered rugs, chessboards and chess pieces, dominoes and ancient playing cards, beautifully decorated colorful everyday objects and jewelry collections. The Museum’s Harari Collection exhibits silver vessels from the eleventh century CE found in a jar that had been hidden in the course of a well-to-do Spanish merchant’s journey to Persia. The collections provide a colorful depiction of life in the lands of Islam. The Museum’s magnificent weapons room contains cold weapons and firearms from the seventh to the nineteenth century CE. Among the cold weapons in the exhibition there are bayonets, bows and arrows, daggers, knives, swords and axes. The firearms on display include ancient rifles and pistols. The collection also contains various battle paraphernalia such as ancient armor, helmets, gunpowder pouches, unit insignias, and more. The entire collection was purchased by Prof. Richard Ettinghausen, one of the world’s foremost experts on Islamic archeology and art. Prof. Ettinghausen was the chief curator of the Freer Gallery, where he established a section of Islamic art, and later became Consultative Chairman of the Islamic Department of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He published dozens of books and articles on various aspects of Islam and Islamic art.

Address:
2, Hapalmach Street
P.O.B. 4088
Jerusalem, Israel 91040

By car: From the city's entrance, go straight and count 8 traffic lights (starting with the one at the entrance past the gas stations). You will pass Sacker Park and the Valley of Rehavia on your right. At the 9th traffic light, turn left on to Hapalmach Street and continue straight until the end. The Museum is at the end of Hapalmach on your left.

Parking:There is free parking in an open lot on Chopin Street, opposite the Jerusalem Theater, and along Chopin, Dubnov and Hapalmach Streets.

By bus: No. 13 from the Central Bus Station via the city center stops on Hapalmach St. Nos. 9, 19, 22, 31, 32 stop on Aza Road, a short walking distance from the Museum

Address:
2, Hapalmach Street
P.O.B. 4088
Jerusalem, Israel 91040

phone: 972-2-5661291

fax: 972-2-5661291

email: islamart@netvision.net.il