Dr. Almut von Gladiss / Gladiß (* 29.05.1943 † 24.06.2013), initially trained as a classical archaeologist, moved after her doctorate in the field of Islamic art history. Since the 1980s, she has been working at the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, where at first she dealt intensively with the metalwork of the collection. She has curated several exhibitions and written or edited the corresponding catalogs. We owe her numerous valuable contributions to a broad spectrum of Islamic art history, e.g. to the Berlin Prachtkoran (Splendid Koran) and the Indian Moghul miniatures.

Ernst J. Grube (May 9, 1932 - June 12, 2011) was one of the outstanding scholars in the field of Islamic art. He conducted research and published in unusual width and depth, providing some reference works of lasting value. His iconographic contributions and bibliographical surveys are legendary, as demonstrated in the joint volume (with Jeremy Johns) on the "Painted Ceilings of the Cappella Palatina" in Palermo (Islamic Art, Suppl. I, 2005). Together with his wife and colleague Eleanor Sims, specialist on Islamic painting, they edited the journal Islamic Art, vols. 1-6 (1981-2009) for more than two decades.