From the earliest times to the present, artists and craftsmen across Muslim lands have used writing to decorate all types of buildings and objects, from the most expensive works of art to the humblest everyday vessels. This lecture illustrates some of the many ways they did so, raising the art of writing to its most sublime and transforming it into one of the most distinctive features of Islamic visual culture.

This program is presented in conjunction with the museum's collection of Arts of the Islamic World and the exhibition Arts of Islamic Lands: Selections from the al-Sabah Collection, Kuwait. A reception to meet the speaker follows the program.