Ünver Rüstem

Ünver Rüstem is the Second Decade Society Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Art at Johns Hopkins University's Krieger School of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on Islamic art and architecture, particularly the Ottoman Empire's later centuries, emphasizing cross-cultural interactions.

• Education: PhD from Harvard University; BA/MA from University of London (SOAS/UCL)

Research interests include the semantic functions of artworks in political/social contexts, Ottoman Baroque architecture, manuscript reception, funerary culture, and the crescent moon's religiopolitical symbolism. Current projects explore Qur'an translations and Ottoman costume representation in cross-cultural diplomacy.

Awards include the Barakat Trust grant and fellowships from Koç University, Columbia University, and the University of Cambridge. His work bridges textual analysis with material artifact interpretation, exemplified by his 2019 book Ottoman Baroque.