Gifts of the Sultan is organised into three sections: personal gifts, pious donations and state and diplomatic gifts.
The first section includes intimate items such as objects of personal adornment in the form of jewellery, belts and garments; precious yet utilitarian pieces such as vessels of gold, silver, porcelain and jade; and paintings, albums and manuscripts.
The second section highlights pious donations, encompassing architectural elements, furnishings and manuscripts of the Qur’an that were part of a religious institution’s endowment; the endowment deed itself; and works, often of a secular nature, specifically gifted to a mosque or shrine.
The third and largest section features works made for or kept in royal treasuries, representing various types and materials ranging from rock crystal pieces and courtly regalia to places of habitation such as a palace façade.
The exhibition also includes a small contemporary component presenting the work of Sadegh Tirafkan, Shahzia Sikander, Ahmed Mater and Günseli Kato. These four innovative artists, who have roots in the Islamic world and draw inspiration from their own cultural traditions, have been commissioned to produce new work interpreting the theme of Gifts of the Sultan.
The exhibition is a collaboration effort between the Museum of Islamic Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) with support from the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The presentation at MIA is the final version of the exhibition following appearances at LACMA (June 5–September 5, 2011) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (October 23, 2011–January 15, 2012).