What is Lord Leighton's Arab Hall?

A London museum will be graced by British royalty on Thursday, when King Charles III is set to visit to see the contemporary art and traditional crafts on show. In a trip to Leighton House, the king will see a vast mural by an Iranian artist, visit the centre’s famous Arab Hall and hear about the progress made by the Turquoise Mountain, a charity he founded to revive historic areas and traditional crafts at risk of being lost. Leighton House, a museum in Holland Park, west London, which pays homage to Middle Eastern and Victorian era art, was recently restored and opened to the public. There is an 11-metre high mural by Shahrzad Ghaffari on the Helical Staircase. The piece, inspired by a poem written by 13th-century Persian poet Rumi, explores the themes of unity and common humanity. Ghaffari was also due to be at the centre on Thursday. For the mural, she used Rumi’s words as inspiration, painting them on the walls in colours that are a nod to the museum building itself — blues similar to the turquoise tiles and reds reminiscent of the external brickwork. King Charles will also view furniture commissioned by Turquoise Mountain and handmade for the museum by Syrian and Jordanian artisans in Amman. He will visit the Arab Hall, home to a renowned collection of Islamic tiles and mosaic floors. Turquoise Mountain, a charity founded by the king in 2006 — when he was Prince Charles — helps revive historic areas and traditional crafts. It began operating in Afghanistan and has since expanded into Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Myanmar. In particular, it helps artisans, including Afghan carpet weavers, to set up businesses and preserve their skills to be passed down to future generations. Turquoise Mountain has restored more than 150 buildings and trained 15,000 artisans across Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Middle East. Leighton House is the former home and studio of leading Victorian artist Lord Frederic Leighton. It is in what was then the rural enclave of Holland Park, now one of the most expensive places to live in the city. Leighton House started as a relatively modest brick dwelling and has been extended over the years. A large, glass-enclosed studio was designed to let in as much light as possible, vital in the smog of late 19th-century London. At the centre of the house is the Arab Hall. Arranged as an enclosed courtyard, the walls are covered in Iznik tiles that the well-travelled artist had bought in Syria, Egypt and Turkey. Nooks provide space for lounging and a water feature adds to the tranquillity. Above, a small mashrabiya overlooks Leighton’s fantasy of Ottoman Empire life — a classic example of British Orientalism. After 18 years of painstaking conservation and restoration at a cost of £8 million ($9.6 million), the museum reopened in October. Born in 1830 in Yorkshire and raised in Germany, Lord Leighton used a range of artistic interests, from Arab motifs to old master pieces, to paint exquisite canvasses. He had an affinity for poignant vignettes: Michelangelo nursing his ailing servant; a young girl feeding berries to her mother, lounging in bed; and a couple on their honeymoon, leaning in towards each other. At 26, he made a headline-grabbing debut at the Royal Academy with a painting of the Madonna being carried through the streets of Florence. Prince Albert was so taken with the artwork he convinced his wife Queen Victoria to buy it. Later, Lord Leighton was elected president of the Royal Academy and used his influence over an 18-year period to raise the profile and importance of artists in Britain's cultural landscape. After his death in 1896, the furnishings of his house were sold in a Christie’s auction lasting eight days. Many of those items had been tracked down and reinstalled for autumn's reopening.

What is Lord Leighton's Arab Hall?

Leighton House in west London celebrates Middle Eastern art and craftsmanship