Wikipedia:GLAM/Khalili

The Khalili Foundation is partnering with Wikimedia UK to share a unique set of cultural content on and to promote cultural diversity on Wikimedia platforms. The partnership was announced at Wikimania 2019 in Stockholm.

The Khalili Foundation is a UK-based charity promoting interfaith and intercultural understanding through art, culture and education. As part of its cultural philanthropy, it freely shares images and data from the Khalili Collections. The Khalili Collections are eight collections of cultural treasures acquired by Professor Sir David Khalili -each the largest and most comprehensive of its kind. They include:

• Islamic Art (700-2000)
• Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage (700-2000)
• Aramaic Documents (535 BC-324 BC)
• Japanese Art of the Meiji Period (1868-1912)
• Japanese Kimono (1700-2000)
• Swedish Textiles (1700-1900)
• Spanish Damascened Metalwork (1850-1900)
• Enamels of the World (1700-2000)

The partnership involves:

• Sharing more than 1,500 high-resolution images of items from across the eight collections;
• Sharing short lay summaries of research by academic experts that relates to the collections.

User:MartinPoulter is acting as a Wikimedian In Residence for the project from February 2020 onwards.

This is a highly significant partnership in a number of ways. It is globally the first GLAM-Wiki project with a private collection. The collections are mostly about art outside the European/ North American canons. The collected artworks are often the best technical and artistic examples of their era, and they have been digitised with high resolution. There are more than seventy volumes published about the collection, by leading academic experts, that give contextual essays as well as documenting the art works. This information is being used to improve overview articles such as Edo period, Meiji era, Damascening, Japanese lacquerware, and to create artist biographies. At the outset of the project, Japanese decorative arts were poorly represented on English Wikipedia, with some outstanding artists having no biography, and no mention or art and culture in the Meiji era article. Wikimedia also suffered from a paucity of images related to Islam, compared to other major religions.

This Month in GLAM

Blog posts

• "Reaching millions of readers through Wikipedia", Guest article for Cultural Content newsletter, 4 April 2024
• "Three ways to make links between collections", May 2023
• "Historical people and modern collections: a Wikidata exploration", February 2022
• "Manuscripts on Wikidata: the state of the art?", October 2021

Case study

• outreach:GLAM/Case_studies/Khalili_Collections

New articles created

New articles created at editathons

Other articles substantially improved

Many more articles — too many to list here — have been improved with images and/or additional facts and citations. As of January 2023, the BaGLAMa tool reports that more than 300 pages on English Wikipedia have Khalili Collections images.

Global Visual Arts Taskforce

As part of this project, I have created this list of target articles, based on the Ahmed and Poulter research paper. You are invited to improve Wikipedia's cultural diversity by creating or improving articles about the artists and masterpieces on the list.

Images uploaded

I've created the dedicated account User:MartinPoulter (KC WIR) for uploads from March 2021 onwards. That account will be used for image uploads only, not for any article editing.

1,541 (Images uploaded as part of this effort usually have "Khalili Collection" as the first part of the filename).

• 
  924 images from the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art (some images in this category existed before this project)
• 
  124 images from the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art
• 
  34 images from the collection of Kimono
• 
  108 images from the collection of Enamels of the World
• 
  26 images from the collection of Aramaic documents
• 
  47 images from the collection of Swedish textiles
• 
  32 images from the collection of Spanish damascened metalwork (Many works in this collection are too recent to count as free content.)
• 
  239 images from the collection of Hajj and the arts of Pilgrimage (one image in this category existed before)

These categories are expanding slightly over time, usually with cropped versions of already-uploaded images.

These images are categorised into over a thousand Commons categories so far (excluding hidden categories).

Image views

• 49.2 million image views total in 2021, including images on the front page for DYK.
• 47 million image views total in 2022

• The category has been added to the BaGLAMa2 stats tool. Stats for January 2020 show zero hits, but that is an error with the stats tool. The tool seems to have stopped calculating stats in January 2023 but page view statistics can still be calculated by GLAMorgan.
  • January 2023: 4,794,240 (missing data for 595 pages) (GLAMorgan gives a much higher number than BaGLAMa2)
  • February 2023: 4,284,016 (missing data for 635 pages)
  • March 2023: 5,276,872 (missing data for 687 pages)
  • April 2023: 5,123,063 (missing data for 546 pages) (excluding 4.8 million image views from the Musa va 'Uj DYK)
  • May 2023: 5,471,972 (missing data for 686 pages) (excluding 4.7 million image views from Today's Featured Article on English Wikipedia, May 17)
  • June 2023: 4,709,833 (missing data for 662 pages)
  • July 2023: 4,699,823 (missing data for 572 pages)
  • August 2023: 4,520,153 (missing data for 700 pages)
  • September 2023: 4,840,296 (missing data for 531 pages)
  • October 2023: 4,920,186 (missing data for 541 pages) (excluding 4.6 million image views from the Falnama DYK)
  • November 2023: 5,584,000 (excluding 4.8 million views from the Gulshan-i 'Ishq DYK on English Wikipedia, 70,489 views from the war mask Picture Of The Day on Arabic Wikipedia, 29 November, and 65,080 views from the Picture of the Day on Persian Wikipedia, 2 December)
  • December 2023: 5,161,982 (missing data for 543 pages) (excluding the Picture Of The Day on Persian Wikipedia, 14 December)
  • Total for 2023: 78.5 million image views
  • January 2024: 5,958,489 on 92 wikis
  • February 2024: 7,154,543 (missing data for 636 pages) on 93 wikis
  • March 2024: 6,126,483 on 94 wikis

The BaGLAMa stats tool is overestimating the image views for some months. Corrected numbers are below. These numbers do not include image hits on the front page, for example when an image is used in a DYK.

Wikidata items

So far 1,188 items created for objects in the Khalili Collections (not including the items for the collections themselves). Total 11,423 statements (mean 9.6 statements per object)

The number of Wikidata items does not match the number of images because there are often multiple images of the same object, and some items lack images because they are too recent for the original object to be out of copyright.

Featured images on English Wikipedia

• 
  Composite Imaginary View of Japan
  Passed review 17 August 2020
  Picture Of The Day 1 November 2020
• 
  Talismanic shirt
  Passed review 26 July 2021
  Picture Of The Day 2 May 2022
• 
  Chinese scroll with the text of surat al-Hajj
  Passed review 24 June 2023
  Scheduled for Picture Of The Day on 14 June 2024

Featured images on Commons

• 
  A single padded-silk panel depicting rice, tea, and silk cultivation and production
  Passed review 20 July 2020
  POTD 21 September 2020.
• 
  Composite Imaginary View of Japan
  Passed review 5 May 2020
  POTD 11 July 2020
• 
  Talismanic shirt
  Passed review 15 July 2021
  POTD 2 May 2022
• 
  Chinese scroll with the text of surat al-Hajj
  Passed review 15 July 2021
  

Featured images on Persian Wikipedia

• 
  A single padded-silk panel depicting rice, tea, and silk cultivation and production
  Passed review 26 July 2020
  POTD 6 September 2022
• 
  Talismanic shirt
  Passed review 19 July 2021
  POTD 14 December 2023
• 
  Illustration from the Anis al-Hujjaj
  Passed review 29 June 2021
  POTD 2 December 2023
• 
  Kimono for a Young Woman (Furisode)
  Passed review 4 August 2021
  POTD 15 February 2022

Featured images on Arabic Wikipedia

• 
  Calligraphic work by Abdülmecid I
  Passed review 20 September 2021
  POTD 21 September 2021
• 
  "Sacred Pilgrimage Journey"
  Passed review 31 October 2021
  POTD 1 November 2021
• 
  Gold dinar dated 198 AH (813-14 AD)
  Passed review 30 November 2021
  POTD 1 December 2021
• 
  Hilyah with an unusual layout
  Passed review 8 January 2022
  POTD 9 January 2022
• 
  Mughal pan box and tray
  Passed review 5 June 2022
  POTD 6 June 2022
• 
  Calligraphic Composition of Surah Yusuf (chapter 12 of the Quran)
  Passed review 8 June 2022
  POTD 9 June 2022
• 
  An Illustrated Astronomical Treatise by Mahmud ibn Muhammad al-Jaghmini
  Passed review 16 September 2022
  POTD 17 September 2022
• 
  Sitara for the Internal Door of the Ka‘bah
  Passed review 29 December 2022
  POTD 30 December 2022
• 
  War mask from 15th century Anatolia or Western Iran
  Passed review 27 November 2023
  POTD 29 November 2023

Featured images on Indonesian Wikipedia

• 
  Photo of the Kaaba by Muhammad Sadiq Bey
  Passed review July 2023 or January 2024- not clear
  POTD 28 January 2024

PetScan query which finds other featured images (16 results as of 1 February 2024)

A Composite Imaginary View of Japan was the picture of the day on French Wikipedia for 29 May 2021, where it was shown to more than half a million people. This was also Commons Picture of the Day on 11 July 2021, which also made it Picture of the Day on 26 versions of Wikipedia and on Spanish Wikinews. Pages with the image were seen by around 900,000 people in total.

17 May 2023

A hajj certificate showing the Kaaba within the Masjid al-Haram

Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam was an exhibition held at the British Museum in London from 26 January to 15 April 2012. It was the world's first major exhibition telling the story, visually and textually, of the hajj: the pilgrimage to Mecca which is one of the five pillars of Islam. Textiles, manuscripts, historical documents, photographs, and art works from many different countries and eras were displayed to illustrate the themes of travel to Mecca, hajj rituals, and the Kaaba (depicted). The exhibition was formally opened by the then Prince Charles and was popular both with Muslims and non-Muslims, attracting nearly 120,000 adult visitors and favourable press reviews. An exhibition catalogue with essays about the hajj was published by the British Museum in 2012, along with a shorter illustrated guide to the hajj. An academic conference, linked to the exhibition, resulted in another book about the topic. (Full article...)

These statements, images and links have appeared on English Wikipedia's front page where they were each seen by millions of people.

Did You Know...	Image	Date
that the Khalili Collections (manuscript folio shown) comprise some 35,000 works of art assembled by Nasser D. Khalili over five decades?	Manuscript folio of Shahnameh	26 October 2019
that a collection of kimono (example pictured) assembled by Nasser Khalili covers four periods of Japanese history?	Kimono from the Khalili Collection	18 April 2020
that Nasser Khalili's 1,400-piece collection of Meiji-era Japanese art (object pictured) is equalled only by the Japanese imperial collection in size and quality?	Japanese incense burner in the Khalili Collection	28 May 2020
that Yabu Meizan's success as a porcelain artist (work pictured) inspired a rival workshop to sell imitations under his name?	Painted and gilded bowl by Yabu Meizan, c. 1910	09 June 2020
that Plácido Zuloaga trained more than two hundred artists to make damascened artworks (example pictured)?	Fonthill Casket, from the Khalili Collection of Spanish metalwork	18 June 2020
that on their display in Chicago in 1893, the vases of the Khalili Imperial Garniture (pictured) were described as "the largest examples of cloisonné enamel ever made"?	Khalili Imperial Garniture	12 July 2020
that Namikawa Sōsuke (work pictured) and Namikawa Yasuyuki were the only two cloisonné artists to be appointed Imperial Household Artists?	Vases by Namikawa Sōsuke	25 July 2020
that Kawade Shibatarō co-developed the moriage ('piling-up') technique, which gives enamel artworks a three-dimensional effect?	-	07 August 2020
that Nasser Khalili assembled the Khalili Collection of Swedish Textiles (item pictured) because he felt that art historians undervalued works by anonymous creators?	Swedish tapestry from the Khalili Collection	31 August 2020
that the Khalili Collection of Spanish Metalwork includes a Moroccan-style dagger (pictured) previously owned by King Alfonso XII of Spain?	Dagger and sheath from the Khalili Collection	15 October 2020
that the Khalili Collection of Enamels of the World includes a throne table made for the 18th-century Qianlong Emperor?	-	10 November 2020
that the Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents (example pictured) includes the earliest known use of the name "Alexandros" to refer to Alexander the Great?	Aramaic document in the Khalili Collection	12 January 2021
that the Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage has a 16th-century manuscript (pictured) showing Alexander the Great praying at the Kaaba?	Folio depicting Alexander the Great at the Kaaba	16 March 2021
that the basic design for the sitaras that decorate the Kaaba dates back to the 16th century?	-	29 April 2021
that, on arriving at Mecca with a pilgrim caravan, the mahmal was given an elaborate fabric covering?	-	28 May 2021
that the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art includes an exceptionally large 17th-century astrolabe (pictured) commissioned by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan?	Astrolabe in the Khalili Collection	3 June 2021
that a 17th-century illustrated manuscript of the Anis Al-Hujjaj shows pilgrims sailing from the Indian subcontinent to Arabia (pictured)?	Illustration from the Anis Al-Hujjaj	1 July 2021
that Muhammad Sadiq's photographs were the first ever taken of the Islamic holy sites in Mecca and Medina?	-	15 September 2021
that the Dar al-Kiswa in Egypt made ornamental curtains for the Kaaba in Mecca?	-	17 March 2022
that the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity includes value systems, traditions, and beliefs in its definition of culture?	-	5 June 2022
that the British Museum's 2012 exhibition Hajj: Journey to the Heart of Islam included textiles from the Kaaba (example pictured) that were described as bringing "a visceral artistic buzz to the display"?	Sitara from the door of the Kaaba	31 December 2022
that Musa va 'Uj (pictured) depicts figures from all three Abrahamic religions?	Musa va 'Uj	25 April 2023
that opening a Falnama on a painting of the queen of the fairies (example pictured) meant a prediction of good fortune?	Queen of the fairies in the Khalili Falnama	13 October 2023
that Nusrati attributes the virtues of a good ruler to his patron Ali Adil Shah II in The Rose Garden of Love (manuscript scene pictured)	Scene from The Rose Garden of Love	19 November 2023
that most objects in the travelling exhibition Empire of the Sultans bore calligraphy (example pictured)?	Calligraphic tiles from the Empire of the Sultans	18 January 2024

As a by-product of the catalogue data which is being added to Wikidata, we can generate maps, timelines and other visualisations of objects in the Khalili Collections, as well as combining Khalili data with other collections.

• Histropedia timeline of some objects from the Enamels of the World collection
• Histropedia timeline of some coins in the Khalili Collections
• Histropedia timeline of some Qurans in the Khalili Collection of Islamic Art
• Histropedia timeline of objects in the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art

• Map: Khalili Collection of Islamic Art
• Map: Khalili Collection of Enamels of the World

• Image gallery: Things depicted in art works of the Khalili Collections
• Image gallery: Things depicting the Kaaba in the Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage
• Image gallery: Khalili Collection of Islamic Art objects from 650 to 1250

• Commons Category: commons:Category:Khalili Collections
• Commons institution page: commons:Institution:Khalili Collections
• Commons permissions template: commons:Template:Khalili collection
• Navigational template: Template:Nasser Khalili
• GLAMtools query for image uses across Wikimedia projects excluding Wikidata
• Links from Commons to the Khalili Collections web site
• Links from English Wikipedia to the Khalili Collections web site
• View stats graph for Khalili Collections articles
• View of interconnected Wikipedia articles linked to Sitara (textile) in Wiki Graph tool
• WikiNav (shows click-trails into and out of an article during May and June 2023)

Wikidata

• Wikidata queries about the collections: wikidata:User:MartinPoulter/queries/khalili
• Database query for recent changes to Wikidata items about KC objects
• Khalili Collections in Reasonator
• Khalili Collections in Crotos:
  • Japanese Art of the Meiji Period
  • Swedish Textiles
  • Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage
  • Islamic Art
  • Enamels of the World
• Khalili Collection of Islamic Art in Sum Of All Paintings
• PetScan query that finds images without a Wikidata-driven template
• Khalili Collections on ArtUK: would be nice to link these pages from the Wikidata entries of the objects.

• "Khalili Foundation Year in Review", Wikimedia UK blog, 29 January 2024
• "The winners of the 2023 UK Wikimedian of the Year Awards", Wikimedia UK blog, 6 December 2023
• Webinar given by Martin Poulter for the Wikimedians of Islamic Civilisation User Group, 11 November 2023. This was an 80-minute event with presentation and discussion. The initial presentation is available on YouTube in English and also in Arabic.
• World Day for Cultural Diversity spotlighted on Wikipedia homepage for the first time ever! Khalili Foundation, 28 July 2023
• Profile of the partnership on the Wikimedia UK web site
• "KRC Wikipedia Edit-a-thon" Khalili Research Centre, University of Oxford, 6 February 2023
• "Study examines cultural leanings of Wikimedia projects' visual art coverage" Signpost 4 February 2023 (by Martin Poulter and Waqas Ahmed)
• "Events for Cultural Diversity in Visual Art", Wikimedia UK blog, 13 December 2022
• "Waqās Ahmed on Knowledge Equity and Wikipedia", video on Wikimedia UK YouTube channel, 22 November 2022
• Mention in round-up of the Khalili Foundation's Cultural Philanthropy activities, 7 July 2022
• Case study reprinted in the Wikimedia UK impact report, April 2022
• Blog post on Khalili Collections web site "Khalili images on Wikipedia" 7 January 2022
• Mention in the Wikimedia UK impact report, March 2021
• Sir David spoke about the partnership in an online event held 25 February 2021. "For Wikipedia [...], we gave them one photograph for each collection to use on the home page, and, funnily enough, after covering seven of the collections, they had about 25 million viewers. That shows you how powerful digitisation can be. [...] That is the future: if you want to make available the collection of an institution, digitisation and sharing bring democratisation into it at the same time." (around 14:40 in the video onwards)
• Mention in "Teaching matters" blog post at Edinburgh University by Dr. Glaire Anderson and Ewan McAndrew, 14 January 2021
• "Wikimedia UK launches partnership with Khalili Collections", Museums Association, 12 September 2019
• "Around the world in 35,000 objects – and a handful of clicks" Apollo Magazine, 11 October 2019

The original intent was that I would visit Khalili Foundation properties at least monthly to talk to staff and examine/ inform attitudes towards Wikimedia. That has not been possible, and some of the issues are best discussed face-to-face, thus this limits the ability of the project to effect cultural change. So we are preparing a report/ presentation to deliver remotely if necessary, using the impressive statistics of what the project has achieved to convince people that Wikimedia is crucially relevant to their work.

I was going to consult collection catalogues and exhibition catalogues during visits to London. So instead I have been sent books in the post. I made a first visit to London in May 2021 and used the opportunity to start consult publications. Bulk image uploads, which would also have been the basis of a data set in Wikidata, were delayed. Just before the lockdown, we did a batch upload of kimono images to refine the process. The lockdown disrupted staff access to the server with the images on it, so we could not do large bulk uploads. For a while I was getting images from the Khalili Collections web site, plus some via email, and manually uploading them as needed.