Power of the Word V — The Emperor’s Gift: Circles of Knowledge

abstract

The fifth edition of the project The Power of the Word culminates in an installation in the Islamic East Gallery that explores a curious graphic encyclopedia. 

An unbound manuscript was recently discovered in the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum storage comprising 88 loose pages. Full of tables and circular diagrams, it had never been studied. Recovering the history of the original manuscript became the focus of the fifth Power of the Word, a participatory curatorial project promoted by the Museum.

By bringing together an interdisciplinary team of philologists, scientists, designers, educators and university students, Muslims and non-Muslims, it was finally possible to decipher its secrets. This research revealed that the contents are a wonderous visualization of information about God, the Universe and Humanity. Entitled The Emperor’s Gift, it was compiled in 19th century Iran from diverse knowledge that crossed time and continents.

Special thanks to Ana Claro, Ana Machado, and Šima Krtalić.

The exhibition runs until September 1st.

• Exhibition website Gulbenkian