Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia, Islamic art museum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia occupies a 30,000 sq. m building of stacked white rectangular volumes with green-tinted glass and glass-railed roof terraces. Its twelve galleries span two levels: level one covers Architecture, Qur'an and Manuscripts, and the art of India, China and the Malay Peninsula; level two holds Arms & Armor, Textiles, Jewelry, Coins, Metal, Wood and Ceramics. The collection numbers more than seven thousand artifacts.
The museum was officially opened on 12 December 1998, built to house a collection of Islamic art in Kuala Lumpur. Its twelve galleries are arranged over two levels, with the Ottoman Room, a complete early-nineteenth-century interior, reconstructed by conservators whose findings on painted woods in tropical climates were shared with international colleagues.
The museum displays works from different regions, showing how Islamic art traditions from India, China, and the Malay Peninsula influenced each other. Visitors can see these connections reflected in objects like ceramics and textiles on display.
The museum is located near Kuala Lumpur railway station and opens daily from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The building includes a library, restaurant, and gift shop where visitors can spend time and take breaks.
The building has five domes: four are visible from outside, while the fifth can only be seen from inside. Conservators used data from restoring the early-nineteenth-century Ottoman Room to study how painted woods age in tropical climates such as Southeast Asia's.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,566 contributors worldwide.
