If you’re curious about Islamic art and excited to start comparing everything from bowls to bling, head to Crosscurrents at the Asian Civilisations Museum (ACM). This exhibition, featuring 100 pieces on loan from the Louvre, offers a rare glimpse into the art of the Ottoman Empire, Mughal India, and Safavid Iran.

The ACM also weaves in pieces from Southeast Asia as well, giving visitors the chance to examine similar objects from a wide range of regions and time periods.

It took me a while to understand how everything hung together. So rather than approaching the exhibition empire by empire, I started thinking about shapes, materials, and decoration instead. Crosscurrents occupies only a few rooms, and although the pieces are spread out over two floors, it’s easy to move back and forth between objects and see patterns, regional styles, and subtle differences. Here’s what I noticed.

Vessels for Holding, Serving, and Purifying

There may be nothing so simple as dishes and bowls — and yet they can be fantastically ornate and complicated. You’ll find multiple examples here of Turkish origin, from Ottoman masters of ceramic form, design, and glaze.

Here’s one basic comparison: the Ottomans often used symmetrical, repeating forms; while in Safavid Iran, you were more likely to find asymmetrical, freehand decorations. Here’s a lovely example from the seventeenth century, which features a Chinese-style dragon.

To bring things full circle, it’s worth looking at the ways in which these many cultures ended up influencing each other. If you head to the permanent collection on the first floor, you will find a small room filled with Chinese porcelains made for the Islamic market — including a dish made in China with a Persian motif.

What happens as cultures move onto more complicated forms  — bottles, purification ewers, hookah bowls? What shapes do they take, and how do people choose to decorate them?

Decorating Surfaces

When I told someone I was going to see an Islamic art exhibit, they asked, “Why? Won’t it all just be geometric shapes?” The answer is an emphatic “no.”

Islamic cultures have taken varied approaches to the Quran’s strictures on imagery. But even here, you will notice tremendous differences within similar decorative frameworks. For example, “geometric” can mean many different things.

And how do we render the natural world …

… or even people?

Then we have the written language, that most complex form of decorative expression.

If you look closely, you’ll find calligraphy everywhere — it even adorns the border of this astrolabe, an astronomical instrument.

If you’re interested in painted imagery, make sure to turn left when you’re facing the “Trading Verses” tiles that portray two men engaged in a poetry contest. I almost missed the silent projection on the wall that displays image after image: a Mughal noblewoman, Caliph Harun al-Rashid and a barber in a bathhouse, a man offering a fish to a woman, and more.

I found myself entirely riveted by these projections and their very specific glimpses into human lives.

Objects of Power, Prestige, and Luxury

You can’t miss these objects — you’ll probably want to stop noticing and simply stare. We’re into the bling, the gold, the gems, everything that says “look at what I can afford.” What might say “I’m in charge” more than a rock crystal dagger hilt set with rubies and emeralds?

The answer to that might be this ceremonial fly whisk — because if you’re going to chase flies away, it should be with peacock feathers, and you should be holding a handle of jade and precious stones.

It’s hard to focus on differences across cultures when our eyes are drawn so immediately to marks of wealth and status.

One Last Object

This mosque model is unique — there’s nothing else in the exhibition like it. And yet I think it’s just wonderful, mostly because it doesn’t look like any mosque I’ve ever seen. It’s a reminder that Islamic architecture varies just as much as the bowls, bling, and other objects in the museum.

What I Loved About Crosscurrents at the Asian Civilisations Museum

I’m curious about Islamic art. It’s such a diverse field, covering everything from manuscript illumination to wood carving. It spans about 1,400 years across Asia, Europe and North Africa. Ultimately, I struggle to understand what makes something a piece of Islamic art.

So I’m grateful to exhibitions like this one, which invite me to slow down and ask questions. What unites these objects, and in what ways are they entirely different? I appreciate that this exhibit looked at multiple regions right up against each other — and that the galleries were small enough to make easy comparisons.

If you’re interested in Islamic art and want to see more, I’ve written about the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha and the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.

A Visitor’s Guide to Crosscurrents

• Runs: Through January 24, 2027
• Open: Monday-Sunday, 10:00 a.m.–7:00 p.m. (open until 9:00 p.m. on Fridays)
• How Long to Spend: 45 minutes–1 hour; longer if you plan to visit the permanent collection
• Tickets: Available at the door or on the official museum website. Free for Singapore citizens and permanent residents
• Combine Your Visit: Your ticket also includes admission to the ACM’s excellent permanent collection. Save it for discounted admission to the Peranakan Museum if you visit within the same week.

Looking to explore more cultural museums? Don’t miss my guide to Singapore Heritage Centres.