Ernst Kühnel


Ernst Kühnel was a German art historian who specialized in Islamic art. He was notable for his research on the connection between Islamic and Coptic art, particularly in textiles. Kühnel served as director of the Museum of Islamic Art from 1931 to 1951, and was a professor at the University of Berlin from 1935 to 1954. He was also a consultant for the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., and president of Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft.
In 1960, Ernst Kühnel became the second person to be awarded the Charles Lang Freer Medal by the Smithsonian Institution.
Kühnel died on 12 August 1964, at the age of 81.

Major works