Ernst Kühnel (1882−1964) was a German

art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

who specialized in

Islamic art Islamic art is a part of Islamic culture and encompasses the visual arts produced since the 7th century CE by people who lived within territories inhabited or ruled by Muslim populations. Referring to characteristic traditions across a wide ra ...

. He was notable for his research on the connection between Islamic and

Coptic art Coptic art is the Christian art of the Byzantine-Greco-Roman Egypt and of Coptic Christian Churches. Coptic art is best known for its wall-paintings, textiles, illuminated manuscripts, and metalwork, much of which survives in monasteries an ...

, particularly in textiles. Kühnel served as director of the Museum of Islamic Art (part of the

Berlin State Museums The Berlin State Museums (german: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin) are a group of institutions in Berlin, Germany, comprising seventeen museums in five clusters, several research institutes, libraries, and supporting facilities. They are overseen ...

) from 1931 to 1951, and was a professor at the

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

from 1935 to 1954. He was also a consultant for the

Textile Museum A textile museum is a museum with exhibits relating to the history and art of textiles, including: * Textile industries and manufacturing, often located in former factories or buildings involved in the design and production of yarn, cloth and clo ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and president of

Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft The Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (, ''German Oriental Society''), abbreviated DOG, is a German voluntary association based in Berlin dedicated to the study of the Near East. The DOG was officially founded in January 1898 to foster public interest ...

(German Oriental Society). In 1960, Ernst Kühnel became the second person to be awarded the

Charles Lang Freer Medal The Charles Lang Freer medal was established in 1956 by the Smithsonian Institution in honor of Charles Lang Freer, the founder of the Freer collection. The medal is conferred intermittently, honoring distinguished career contributions made by ...

by the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.Freer Gallery of Art. (1960)
''Second presentation of the Charles Lang Freer medal, May 3, 1960.''
/ref> Kühnel died on 12 August 1964, at the age of 81.

Major works

*''Late Antique Coptic and Islamic Textiles of Egypt'', with W. F. Volbach (London, 1926) *"La Tradition copte dans les tissus musulmans" (''Bulletin de la Société d'archéologie copte'' 4, 1938, pp. 79−89) *"Koptische Kunst im islamischen Ägypten" (in ''Koptische Kunst, Christentum am Nil: Catalogue of the Exhibition in the Villa Hügel, Essen, May–August 1963'', Essen, 1963, pp. 153−6) *"Nachwirkungen der koptischen Kunst im islamischen Ägypten" (in Christentum am Nil. Internationale Arbeitstagung zur Ausstellung "Koptische Kunst" Essen, Villa Hügel, 23.-25.7.1963, Recklinghausen, 1964, pp. 257−9).

References

1882 births 1964 deaths German art historians Historians of Islamic art Coptic art Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Burials at the Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf Textile historians {{islam-historian-stub