The Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art, Culture & Design is housed in the former home of Doris Duke near Diamond Head in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is now owned and operated as a public museum of the arts and cultures of the Islamic world by the Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (DDFIA). Guided tours depart from the Honolulu Museum of Art, which operates the tours in co-operation with DDFIA.
Construction of Shangri La took place from 1936 to 1938,[1] after Doris Duke's 1935 honeymoon, which took her through the Islamic world. Her travels through Egypt, India, and the Middle East inspired her to design a home that reflected the beauty, diversity, and craftsmanship of Islamic art and architecture.Duke’s experiences across North Africa and South and Southeast Asia also shaped her vision of combining Islamic design with the natural landscape of Hawaiʻi.
For nearly 60 years, Duke commissioned and collected artworks for the space, eventually forming a collection of over 4,000 objects. The structure was designed by Marion Sims Wyeth, and Duke personally collaborated with artisans to incorporate Moroccan ceilings, Persian tilework, and Mughal-style gardens into the home’s design. Over time, she expanded her collection to nearly 4,500 artworks, particularly strong in ceramics, wood, glass, and textiles dating from 1600 to 1940 CE.[2]
An artistic reflection of the construction of Shangri La can be found in Kiana Davenport's novel Song of the Exile.[3] The building was opened to the public as a museum, the Shangri La Museum for Islamic Art, Design & Culture, in 2002.[4] It remains the only museum in the United States dedicated exclusively to Islamic art, continuing Duke’s wish that Shangri La be open to students, scholars, and others interested in the appreciation and study of Islamic art.[2]
The building was opened to the public as a museum, the Shangri La Museum for Islamic Art, Design & Culture, in 2002.[4]
The museum displays a wide-ranging collection of art, furnishings, and built-in architectural elements from Iran, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, Syria, Egypt, and India - among others. Gilt and painted ceilings from Morocco, vivid ceramics from Iran (including the only complete lusterwareIlkhanidmihrab[5] in North America), painted wooden interiors from Syria, pierced metalwork and vibrant textiles from Spain to India (including a magnificent pair of shaped carpets, made for the Mughal emperor) are among the many highlights. Its multiple buildings on the campus also include The Playhouse (a reduced-scale version of the 17th century Chehel Sotoun in Esfahan, Iran, now used for public programs and artist residencies).
One of Duke's most notable artworks that stand out is the mihrab from Kashan, Iran. This specific piece of art is the best preserved out of the 6 that remains. Not only does this serve as a decoration but it showcases Duke's Orientalism. Stripping it of its original religious contexts by not showcasing it for decades, Duke took away the religious function to which a community of believers used for prayer.[6]
The outdoor landscaping has a number of gardens, including a formal Mughal garden inspired by the Shalimar Gardens, as well as terraced water features, a Hawaiian fishpond, tropical gardens and a waterfall, and fabulous vistas of the Pacific Ocean.
The museum also hosts two visual artists per year for onsite exhibitions, workshops, and/or lectures. Recently-featured artists have included Hayv Kahraman, Faig Ahmed, Bahia Shehab, and Reem Bassous.
Architecture design and preservation
Constructed between 1936 and 1938 for Doris Duke by architect Marion Sims Wyeth, Shangri La was designed as a one-story residence combining modernist architecture with elements drawn from Islamic design traditions. The estate integrates indoor and outdoor spaces through courtyards, pavilions, and oceanfront terraces, while incorporating materials and artworks from regions including Iran, India, and Morocco.[7]
Duke’s continuing redesigns throughout her life introduced replicated and commissioned works alongside historical pieces, reflecting her interest in mobility, transitional spaces, and the blending of architecture with the surrounding landscape. By the 1960s, she had reconfigured several rooms, such as the dining area, into tent-like interiors inspired by Islamic models, illustrating the estate’s ongoing transformation into a hybrid dwelling of art and architecture.[8]
Location
The facility sits on a 4.9-acre (20,000 m²) oceanfront lot in the exclusive Black Point residential neighborhood near Diamond Head, Hawaii. All tours to Shangri La begin and end at the Honolulu Museum of Art, which occupies 3.2 acres (13,000 m²) near downtown Honolulu.
In addition to being a historic residence, Shangri La serves as a center for learning and cultural sharing, hosting artists, scholars, and educators through residencies and community programs that promote understanding of Islamic art and design.[9]
As the museum operates under the terms of a conditional use permit from the City and County of Honolulu, visitor access is restricted. Visitors are not permitted to drive or park on-site at Shangri La or in the surrounding residential neighborhood.
The museum's oceanfront setting and seamless blend of architecture, landscape, and ocean views also reflect Doris Duke’s vision of experiencing Islamic art within a living, natural environment.[9]
Public tours and programs
Because it is located in a residential area with limited parking capacity, tours of Shangri La originate at the Honolulu Museum of Art, and tickets must be reserved well in advance. Individual access to the museum is not granted.
Tours last about two and a-half hours, with one and a-half hours onsite at Shangri La. Tours feature the public rooms of the museum and portions of the grounds, including the Entry Courtyard with Bahia Shehab’s My People mural, the Mughal Garden, the covered lānai overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and views of the Playhouse, pool, and water cascades. Shangri La also has self-guided visits where guests can explore the museum at their own pace. Staff members are available to share information and answer questions about the art collection.[10]
For people who can't visit in person, the museum offers a virtual tour online that shows its art, architecture, and ocean views.[11] Visitors must follow the museum’s rules, and shuttle buses from the Honolulu Museum of Art or Bishop Museum help protect the privacy of the nearby neighborhood.[12]
The museum holds events all year, like classes, talks, and shows by artists who stay there, such as musicians, dancers, comedians, and scholars. These events help people connect and learn about different cultures through art and creativity.[13]
Scholarly perspectives and cultural representation
Academic analysis has examined Shangri La in the specific categories of the museum's representation, reception from visitors, and the cultural politics surrounding privately owned collections of Islamic art in Western countries. Sociologist and Head of the Department of Peace Studies at Payap University, Suchart Setthamalinee, argues that the site focuses on Doris Duke's personal tastes and identity more than a presentation and preservation of Islamic art traditions, noting that a tour of Shangri La emphasizes Duke's biography over the historical and cultural contexts of the art pieces on display.[14]
The study also found that many visitors primarily come to experience the estate's association with the wealth and celebrity influence of Duke rather than the Islamic art, shaping the way that the art is interpreted within the museum. Setthamalinee points towards the idea that certain display choices, such as the placement of religious architectural elements, raise questions about the effects of American Orientalism on Islamic art in Western private museums. However, two Muslim community leaders with the Muslim Association of Hawaii were interviewed for the study, and they viewed Shangri La as a site that has potential for positively fostering public understanding of Islamic art and culture.[14]
↑Mellins, Thomas; Albrecht, Donald; Pope, Deborah; Komaroff, Linda; Street-Porter, Tim; Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, eds. (2012). Doris Duke's Shangri La: a house in paradise: architecture, landscape and Islamic art. New York: Skira Rizzoli. ISBN978-0-8478-3895-0.
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