In Islamic art and culture, pearls symbolize divine light, purity, and paradise, and serve as markers of spiritual authority and sovereign power. Nacreous objects were central to trade networks across the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean, integrating them into Islamic artistic and economic systems. Historical studies tell of their layered significance: as royal emblems in Late Antique Iran, celestial symbols in the Umayyad Mosque mosaics, and cultural icons like the legendary al-Yatima. Pearls also held mystical value, bridging material and spiritual realms in Sufi thought and astral magic. Mughal and Ottoman courts further showcased pearls as symbols of imperial identity and cosmopolitan ideals. Recent scholarship has explored the global impact of the pearl trade, emphasizing its connections to colonial histories and cross-cultural exchanges. However, these studies have often overlooked the duality of pearls as both symbolic objects tied to spiritual and moral ideals and material commodities produced within colonialist and exploitative relations. This essay traces the role of pearls in Islamic art and how they reflect a legacy of spiritual, artistic, and economic significance illuminating the Islamic world’s central role in global art history and cultural exchanges between Arabian Gulf, India, and Southeast Asia to Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

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