Jan Schmidt

Arnoud Vrolijk

Karin Scheper

Diplomat Levinus Warner (1618-1665) was commissioned in 1655 to represent the Dutch interests at the court of the sultan of the Ottoman Empire. His interest in the language and cultures of the Middle East meant that by his death he brough a huge collection of manuscripts from the region together. Besides the collection of Levinus Warner, this beautiful book also traces the history of the Ottoman Empire and the personal history of Levinus Warner, focusing on the interest of Westerners in Istanbul at the point in time.

Oriental collection of Levinus Warner, Dutch diplomat in seventeenth-century Istanbul

Luitgard Mols

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Dutch diplomats, scholars and travellers assembled unique collections in Jeddah, Mecca and Medina. The Dutch presence in Arabia, where they established a consulate in Jeddah, was intimately connected with the supervision of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca from the Netherlands East Indies, present-day Indonesia. Notable guests at this consulate included the formidable Dutch Islamicist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, visiting Arabia in 1884-1885. With the invaluable help of local Muslims, Dutch collectors tried to capture the essence of what they regarded as an 'authentic' Oriental culture in a period when Arabia was already looking towards modernity. 0These extensive collections are now preserved at the Leiden Museum of Ethnology (Museum Volkenkunde, est. 1837) and Leiden University (founded 1575). Together, they allow a glimpse into a colourful and vibrant society, one virtually vanished today under ever-growing numbers of pilgrims, changing political and religious allegiances and sudden economic prosperity. 0.

Traces of a Colourful Past

Western Arabia in the Leiden Collections

Jan Hogendijk

O ye Gentlemen explores two permanent and vital strands in Arabic culture: the Greek tradition in science and philosophy and the literary tradition. More than thirty essays demonstrate that the strands freely interweave within the broader scope of Schrifttum.

Arnoud Vrolijk

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