Category: News

“Paper Matters” in Hamburg: Colour, Craft, and Connections across Eurasia (Day 2/3) 1 October: Introducing decorated paper Prof Dr Kaja Harter-Uibopuu opened the first full presentation day by introducing the CSMC and the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts. Our PI, Prof Dr Ilse Sturkenboom, then considered the definition of decorated paper. Whether brightly coloured… Continue reading HAMBURG, October 2026 – Day 2

“Paper Matters” in Hamburg: Colour, Craft, and Connections across Eurasia (Day 1/3) How do we study an almost invisible pattern? What can a tiny piece of coloured paper reveal about an album’s construction? How did decorated sheets move between workshops, courts, collectors, and readers? These questions brought us together at the Centre for the Study… Continue reading HAMBURG, October 2026 – Day 1

Rethinking Images in Strasbourg: New Questions for GLOBAL DECO PAPER On 22 September, Ilse Sturkenboom, Hanieh Arjomand-Fard and Theresa Zischkin took part in the one-day workshop Rethinking the Image in Islam and in Islamic Societies: Challenges, Methods and Perspectives in Strasbourg. Convened by Nourane Ben Azzouna, Associate Professor at the University of Strasbourg, the workshop… Continue reading STRASBOURG, September 2026

GLOBAL DECO PAPER at the 15th Biennial Iranian Studies Conference in Utrecht The GLOBAL DECO PAPER team recently participated in the 15th Biennial Iranian Studies Conference, hosted by the Association for Iranian Studies in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Across four days of presentations and discussions, the conference offered valuable opportunities to connect our research on decorated… Continue reading UTRECHT, August 2026

New Research and Shared Perspectives: PhD Colloquium This week, a two-day colloquium brought together the doctoral researchers supervised by our Principal Investigator, Prof. Dr. Ilse Sturkenboom. More than ten participants presented the latest developments in their dissertation projects, making the event a valuable opportunity to discuss work in progress, exchange ideas, and receive feedback from… Continue reading MUNICH, July 2026

Putting Theory into Practice II: Testing Methods for Creating Silhouetted Paper For our second practical workshop, the GLOBAL DECO PAPER team turned to the question of silhouetted paper: How might these delicate impressions have been created, and which materials, tools, and paper supports produce the most convincing results? We began the afternoon by looking at… Continue reading MUNICH, July 2026

At the beginning of July, the GLOBAL DECO PAPER research team, comprising Ilse, Negar, Yih-chuen, and Theresa, travelled to Frankfurt for the 21st Colloquium of the Ernst Herzfeld Society. Four inspiring days lay ahead, beginning with the graduate meeting on the first day, which brought together a wide range of contributions by doctoral researchers. Although… Continue reading FRANKFURT, July 2026

GLOBAL DECO PAPER at the Fourth German South Asia Day in Erfurt Project PI Ilse Sturkenboom and Theresa Zischkin participated in the Fourth German South Asia Day, held this year at the University of Erfurt. After arriving around noon, they began the day with lunch and a short walk through Erfurt’s old town, including a… Continue reading ERFURT, June 2026

New York City, April 2026 Part II: A late 15th-century Timurid-era safina manuscript. Conjugate central bifolia of reflecting, intricate sprayed stenciled designs in Metropolitan Museum of Art, 19971.91 (l–r), folios 16v=17r, 70v=71r, 73v=74r, and 77v=78r. Images courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In this second instalment, Dr. Jake Benson examined a damaged and incomplete,… Continue reading NEW YORK, April 2026, Part II

4MZ Research Day 2026 The annual 4MZ Research Day, organised by the Munich Middle East–Mediterranean–Central Asia Center (4MZ) at LMU Munich, brought together researchers from a wide range of disciplines and career stages, from doctoral candidates to senior professors. The day opened with a welcome session that introduced the programme and highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary exchange… Continue reading MUNICH, June 2026