Category: News

On 25th and 26th July, Ilse Sturkenboom’s once-per-term colloquium took place, bringing together all research members of the team to present their current work related to decorated paper. The first day began with a presentation by Negar Kazemipourleilabadi, who spoke about the Dīwān-i Muhibbīmanuscripts and how the discovery of a single manuscript in Warsaw inspired the… Continue reading MUNICH, July 2025

Cairo Chronicles Part 2: Conference Conversations   The final three days of Ilse’s and Theresa’s Cairo trip were devoted to the 20th EHG conference, co-convened by the German Archaeological Institute in Cairo and the American University in Cairo (AUC). Hosted in the stunning Oriental Hall at the Tahrir Campus – its gilded ceiling, muqarnas vaults, and… Continue reading CAIRO, July 2025, Part 2

Cairo Chronicles Part 1: Fieldwork & Manuscripts & Conference Conversations In late June, Ilse Sturkenboom and Theresa Zischkin travelled to Cairo for a rich and multifaceted research trip that combined fieldwork, manuscript studies, and participation in the 20th Ernst Herzfeld Society (EHG) conference. Their time in Egypt was as inspiring as it was intensive, offering… Continue reading CAIRO, June 2025, Part 1

In June, Yih-chuen conducted a field trip to the U.K. to gather data from Persianate manuscripts made with Chinese papers, which were decorated with different techniques. This corpus of manuscripts has previously been studied by renowned scholars, including Professor Dr. Ilse Sturkenboom, the lead investigator of our research project. However, many questions remain open and… Continue reading LONDON, June 2025

Negar recently returned from a productive and inspiring research trip to Vienna, which beautifully combined academic exchange with quiet moments of personal reflection. Her trip began with a two-day academic conference at Central European University (CEU). As part of the program, she gave a lecture in the Turkish Studies Department, presenting her research on the… Continue reading VIENNA, June 2025

Research Trip to Chester Beatty, Dublin, May 2025 Negar recently traveled to one of the most remarkable museum libraries in the world, Chester Beatty, a place that holds a true treasure at its heart. The carefully curated collection is among the best-organized resources for studying and researching Ottoman manuscripts. During her visit, Negar had the… Continue reading DUBLIN, May 2025

In May, Theresa traveled to Cambridge, where her time was spent at the renowned Fitzwilliam Museum, whose rich holdings provided a fertile ground for exploring codicological features and manuscript biographies. One of her key research goals was to study a group of Islamic manuscripts, particularly those once owned by P. C. Manuk (d. 1945) –… Continue reading CAMBRIDGE, May 2025

SENSIS: A Multisensory Journey Through Art and Materiality From May 22–24, 2025, our team member Theresa Zischkin participated in the conference SENSIS –  Senses in Islamic Art and Culture: Interdisciplinary Approaches in Utrecht, hosted by Dr. Christian Lange and Dr. Suzanne Compagnon. The event was held at the Centraal Museum and Universiteitsmuseum in Utrecht and… Continue reading UTRECHT, May 2025

In February 2025, our team member Yih-chuen Liao visited Tokyo to explore Japan’s rich tradition of East Asian decorated papers. The first stop of her visit brought her to a special exhibition “Kohitsu (古筆切)” at the Nezu Museum, and the second stop was the Tokyo National Museum. Despite Nezu Museum’s central location in Tokyo, the… Continue reading TOKYO, February 2025

Our team member Negar Kazemipourleilabadi  recently went on a research trip to Istanbul, where she explored the rich manuscript culture of the city through visits to three major libraries: the Süleymaniye Library, the Millet Library, and the Beyazıt State Library. Her focus was on different versions of the Divan-i Muhibbi, Sultan Süleyman’s poetic collection, which… Continue reading ISTANBUL, March 2025