{"id":24653,"global_id":"royalasiaticsociety.org?id=24653","global_id_lineage":["royalasiaticsociety.org?id=24653"],"author":"7635","status":"publish","date":"2025-11-11 16:29:03","date_utc":"2025-11-11 16:29:03","modified":"2026-03-13 16:17:41","modified_utc":"2026-03-13 16:17:41","url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/event\/dr-melanie-gibson-frederic-leighton-a-victorian-traveller-and-collector-in-the-middle-east\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/24653","title":"Dr Melanie Gibson &#8211; Frederick Leighton: A Victorian Traveller and Collector in the Middle East","description":"<p>This talk is connected to <span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Dr <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Melanie Gibson&#8217;s recent publication <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gingko.org.uk\/publishing\/books\/the-arab-hall-frederic-leighton-traveller-and-collector\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>The Arab Hall &#8211; Frederick Leighton: Traveller and Collector<\/em><\/a> (Gingko, 2026).<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><strong><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">About the Talk<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Before becoming President of London&#8217;s Royal Academy in 1878, the artist Frederick Leighton made trips to southern Spain, Egypt, Turkey and Syria. During this period, he started putting together a collection of ceramics and carpets. After his death in 1896 his art collection was entirely dispersed, and his reputation as an Islamophile rests solely on his construction of the \u2018Arab Hall\u2019, the lavish tiled and domed room that he added to his studio home in Kensington.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">In this talk Dr Melanie Gibson will discuss Leighton\u2019s interest in Islamic architecture and design. Her research has shown that Leighton had a discerning eye and that some of his prize pieces are now held in museums worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><strong><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">About the Speaker<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Dr Melanie Gibson writes and lectures on the ceramics of the Middle East. Having studied Arabic at Oxford University, where her interest in the history of the ceramics of the Islamic world began, she gained her doctorate at SOAS, University of London. She is Editor of the Gingko Art Series, and a Trustee of the Friends of Leighton House, where she first became fascinated by the history behind the creation of <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The Arab Hall<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n<p>Image: Albumen print dated c.1895 showing some of Leighton\u2019s collection on display in the Arab Hall.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014<\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA direction-ltr align-start para-style-body\">Free and open to all. In person and online via Zoom.<\/p>\n<p>To attend online, email <a href=\"mailto:emd@royalasiaticsociety.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">emd@royalasiaticsociety.org<\/a> for a link.<\/p>","excerpt":"<p>26 March 2026 (Thursday)<\/p>","slug":"dr-melanie-gibson-frederic-leighton-a-victorian-traveller-and-collector-in-the-middle-east","image":{"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261.jpg","id":24654,"extension":"jpg","width":1000,"height":800,"filesize":225374,"sizes":{"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":614,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":117862,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-768x614.jpg"},"blog-thumb-1":{"width":468,"height":328,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":41784,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-468x328.jpg"},"blog-thumb-2":{"width":468,"height":468,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":59460,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-468x468.jpg"},"blog-thumb-3":{"width":845,"height":592,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":124552,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-845x592.jpg"},"blog-single-1":{"width":1000,"height":500,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":149733,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-1000x500.jpg"},"portfolio-single-img-2":{"width":1116,"height":946,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":245800,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-1116x946.jpg"},"portfolio-single-img-3":{"width":806,"height":645,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":129125,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-806x645.jpg"},"portfolio-single-img-4":{"width":558,"height":446,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":65761,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-558x446.jpg"},"portfolio-img-1":{"width":655,"height":545,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":92589,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-655x545.jpg"},"portfolio-img-2":{"width":655,"height":545,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":92589,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-655x545.jpg"},"portfolio-img-3":{"width":655,"height":524,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":88306,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-655x524.jpg"},"266x266":{"width":266,"height":266,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":20520,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-266x266.jpg"},"600x0":{"width":600,"height":480,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":76121,"url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261-600x480.jpg"}}},"all_day":false,"start_date":"2026-03-26 18:30:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"03","day":"26","hour":"18","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-03-26 20:30:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"03","day":"26","hour":"20","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2026-03-26 18:30:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"03","day":"26","hour":"18","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-03-26 20:30:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"03","day":"26","hour":"20","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"Europe\/London","timezone_abbr":"GMT","cost":"","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"\u00a3","currency_code":"GBP","currency_position":"prefix","values":[]},"website":"","show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"RAS Lectures &amp; Events","slug":"ras-lectures-events","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":2976,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":40,"filter":"raw","id":2976,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/2976","collection":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[{"name":"Book Launch","slug":"book-launch","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":1789,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":27,"filter":"raw","id":1789,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/tags\/1789","collection":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/tags"}}],"venue":{"id":4194,"author":"1","status":"publish","date":"2017-02-23 12:03:46","date_utc":"2017-02-23 12:03:46","modified":"2017-02-23 12:03:46","modified_utc":"2017-02-23 12:03:46","url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/venue\/royal-asiatic-society-lecture-theatre-2\/","venue":"Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre","slug":"royal-asiatic-society-lecture-theatre-2","address":"14 Stephenson Way","city":"London","country":"United Kingdom","zip":"NW1 2HD","phone":"02073884539","website":"www.royalasiaticsociety.org","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre","description":"","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"14 Stephenson Way","addressLocality":"London","postalCode":"NW1 2HD","addressCountry":"United Kingdom"},"telephone":"02073884539","sameAs":"www.royalasiaticsociety.org"},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"royalasiaticsociety.org?id=4194","global_id_lineage":["royalasiaticsociety.org?id=4194"]},"organizer":[],"custom_fields":[],"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"Dr Melanie Gibson &#8211; Frederick Leighton: A Victorian Traveller and Collector in the Middle East","description":"&lt;p&gt;26 March 2026 (Thursday)&lt;\/p&gt;\\n","image":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/The-Arab-Hall-c.-1895-e1772539585261.jpg","url":"https:\/\/royalasiaticsociety.org\/event\/dr-melanie-gibson-frederic-leighton-a-victorian-traveller-and-collector-in-the-middle-east\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2026-03-26T18:30:00+00:00","endDate":"2026-03-26T20:30:00+00:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"Royal Asiatic Society Lecture Theatre","description":"","url":"","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"14 Stephenson Way","addressLocality":"London","postalCode":"NW1 2HD","addressCountry":"United Kingdom"},"telephone":"02073884539","sameAs":"www.royalasiaticsociety.org"},"performer":"Organization"},"ticketed":false}