The Art of Dining: exploring the history of food in Islamic culture

Madhava Khurd and Jamshid Chela, India. Babur Enjoying a Meal at the South Madrasa (College) in 1506, from a Manuscript of the Baburnama (Memoirs of Babur), ca. 1590–93. Photograph: The British Library.

The second-largest religion by population after Christianity, Islam covers a vast geographic area, ranging from Spain to north Africa and the Middle East, through central and south-east Asia, Indonesia and beyond. The various culinary traditions that exist in this broad geography are equally sizable, making for a truly bounteous range of food – as well as accompanying servingware, art, cookware, cookbooks and much more. Approaching the Islamic artistic tradition by way of its culinary culture, the new exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), The Art of Dining: Food Culture in the Islamic World, collects more than 250 works of art and artefacts to give audiences a taste of this remarkable history.

According to the show’s curator Katherine Kasdorf, gourmet culture in the Islamic world goes back to the 9th century in Baghdad, with everyday recipe books arriving around that time and a proliferation of art and items related to cooking and eating. Islamic culinary culture was closely linked to the religion’s artistic tradition, making the two of them deeply entwined. “I’m hopeful that people will be interested in the food angle, so the exhibit will attract those who might not otherwise be drawn to an exhibition of Islamic art,” Kasdorf said. “Hopefully they’ll develop a new appreciation for art from these regions.”

The pieces in this show include many gorgeous scenes of people gathering to eat, be it an all-stops-pulled banquet in Iran, an intimate two-person picnic beneath an idyllic swaying tree, a scene of the emperor Babur enjoying a meal, or a garden party of an Afghan princess. As Kasdorf explained, these paintings were often made specifically as adjuncts to culinary culture – a fact that often goes unnoticed. “So many of the works of Islamic art that you see in museum galleries were made for dining contexts,” she said, “but that theme usually isn’t highlighted.” These paintings also speak to the vast, political and geographical ranges covered by The Art of Dining; largely done with ink, watercolor and gold, they showcase a wide range of artistic styles, showing influences and cultural interchange with China, India and Europe, among other regions.

Mir Sayyid ‘Ali and other artists: The Princes of the House of Timur (Humayun’s Garden Party), 1550–55, with later additions early–mid-1600s. Photograph: The British Museum.

Beyond works of art like paintings, The Art of Dining also offers amazing artefacts related to food culture, including several centuries-old cookbooks. Kasdorf shared that one of the exhibit’s highlights is the illustrated historical cookbook The Book of Delights, which dates back to the 1490s. Normally housed among the treasures in the British Library, the book covers how to create not just food and beverages but also perfumes, health remedies and other everyday necessities. “That’s how cookbooks were in those days,” Kasdorf said. “They had recipes for all things related to dining, as well as health.”

The brainchild of the ruler Ghiyath Shah, who ruled a vast tract of the Indian subcontinent then known as the Malwa Sultanate, The Book of Delights is quite different from a modern cookbook: quantities are not recorded, much cooking knowledge is assumed and the tome offers a wealth of contextual information into the region’s gastronomic history. The book is credited with introducing terms for key ingredients like yakhni (broth) and kufta (meatballs), and it details many spices that are now synonymous with the region’s cuisine, such as cardamom, rosewater, saffron and cloves. It also offers perfumes; these were considered an essential aspect of an elite dining experience in the Muslim world, with flowers and incense also being relied on to set the right atmosphere.

Recipes found in the DIA’s exhibition aren’t limited to its cookbooks, as audiences can also take home their own recipes so that they can try out these foods at home. The Iranian American master chef Najmieh Batmanglij has adapted six dishes that attendees can access via a QR code, while time-lapse videos throughout the exhibition show her preparing these dishes.

Spain (Manises), Dish with delle Agli Family Coat of Arms, ca.1430–60. Tin-glazed earthenware. Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

These recipes and videos are just two of the ways that The Art of Dining engages viewers through all five senses: there are also scent boxes throughout the exhibition, as well as a traditional sufra – a low table used for dining – where audiences can see serving dishes outfitted with video screens that offer views of various culinary treats.

Of course, no exhibition of Islamic cuisine would be complete without coffee. After the beans were cultivated in Ethiopia, the drink spread through Yemen in the 1400s, eventually permeating the Middle East during the following century, where it found a particularly strong following in what is now Turkey. “There was this explosion in the popularity of coffee houses in Istanbul,” Kasdorf said. “Supposedly it went from just a handful to something like 600 in just a few decades – it’s almost too much to believe.”

As Kasdorf explained, coffee was first used by practitioners of the Sufi religion as an aid to concentration and religious ecstasy, before making its way to the world at large via street vendors and cafes. It quickly became a centerpiece of gatherings both inside and outside of the home, giving rise to a rich culture that is all its own.

Iran (Shiraz). A Banquet Scene with Hormuz, from a Manuscript of the Shahnama of Firdawsi, ca. 1485–95. Photograph: Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Coffee is represented in The Art of Dining through gorgeous ceramics from the Ottoman empire that show how culture around the beverage emerged as the drink first promulgated throughout the world. DIA has also partnered with the Yemeni coffee chain Qahwah, as well as the Detroit institution Hashems Nuts & Coffee Gallery, which will be selling coffee beans and authentic Turkish coffee merchandise through the museum store.

The partnerships with Qahwah and Hashem’s are part of major effort made by DIA to deeply connect The Art of Dining to the local community. Salvador Salort-Pons, the museum’s director, explained that ever since DIA opened its Islamic galleries in 2010, the museum has been looking for an exhibition that could really connect with the significant Arab American communities throughout Detroit and Michigan. “We were looking for a project that would continue the work we had done, so we can continue serving the Arab American communities here, which are the largest in the United States,” he told me. Outreach efforts include connecting with religious leaders at local mosques, as well as doing special events with local restaurants and chefs.

All in all, The Art of Dining is an innovative and fascinating view into Islamic culture. A friendly and approachable show, it makes good use of food and dining as a way into the vast and multifaceted world of Islam and its artistic traditions. “It’s a wonderful introduction to show all this diversity within the Muslim world,” said Kasdorf, “as well as really just celebrating all of it.”