British Aesthetic Involvement in Islamic Art and Architecture in Jerusalem 1918-1926: The Pro-Jerusalem Society of Charles Robert Ashbee and Sir Ronald Storrs

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British rule in Palestine 1917-1948 and the dramatic consequences for its Arab and Jewish populations have rarely been investigated from an art historical perspective. The proposed research project is aimed at focusing on art historical evidence of the conflict during the early phase of British military rule and civil administration. It examines the activities of the British artist Charles Robert Ashbee, who cooperated with the Governor of Jerusalem, Sir Ronald Storrs. Together they founded the Pro-Jerusalem Society, an association, which is at the center of this study. The activities in the context of Pro-Jerusalem Society were favourable to Arab culture in Jerusalem and at the same time tried to limit the development of Zionist culture. It is therefore the aim of this project to contextualize artifacts within the development of western positions during the early Palestinian-Arab national movement. This project is closely connected to the DFG-research group "Transcultural Negotiations in the Ambits of Art. Comparative Perspectives on Historical Contexts and Current Constellations". In accordance with the aims of the research group this case study looks at the phenomena of the Pro-Jerusalem Society as an example of transcultural entanglement in the Middle East. Transculturality in this region has so far not been studied at the Department of Art History at the Freie Universität Berlin. It coincides with the newly appointed professorship of Islamic art history and is meant to create a link both to this new department. The project leads to the publication of a monograph with an elaborate appendix of illustrations.