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    October 28, 2011

Islamic Galleries at the Met Have a Grand Re-Opening

   Carolyn Weaver | New York

   It was eight years in the making. Now, New York's Metropolitan Museum
   is re-opening its enormous collection of Islamic art in a grand new
   setting. The objects span nearly 13 centuries and many cultures - and
   include items ranging from paintings to architectural works to medieval
   Korans.

   The Metropolitan Museum has some of the richest holdings of Islamic art
   anywhere - but the collection has been largely out of sight for the
   last eight years, as the museum renovated. Now, the 15 new galleries
   have greatly expanded the museum's display space for Islamic art. The
   rooms are grouped by regions and period, from the 7th century to the
   end of the 19th century.
   'Our galleries are named the Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands,
   Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and later South Asia," said Sheila Canby,
   the Met's chief curator for Islamic art. "We have done that because
   that is the geographical region, area, that we cover."
   The re-opening of the Met's Islamic galleries comes at a time of
   heightened interest in Islam around the world, and many visitors are
   expected.
   They will see intricately woven carpets so large they had to be carried
   by a team and unfolded in palatial spaces. And a tiled prayer niche
   from Iran that was installed facing East, toward Mecca.
   Craftsmen from the Moroccan city of Fez built one of the new galleries.
   They spent eight months creating a traditional Moroccan courtyard
   inside the museum - with a fountain, columns and lacy archways and
   ceramic tiles on the walls.
   The Damascus Room, a huge, wood-paneled chamber from a wealthy 18th
   century household is also new. The room was disassembled in Syria,
   shipped to New York, and rebuilt inside the museum. Conservators
   repaired and restored each element of the carved and painted wood and
   the decorative tiles.
   Sheila Canby says the room features floral patterns derived from Europe
   as well as geometric patterns and inscriptions.
   'And inscriptions that are poetical inscriptions, that praise the
   house, praise the owner, and praise the prophet Mohammed," she said.
   There are sculptures - like a pair of palace guards from medieval Iran
   and paintings of courtly scenes, or lovers embracing. There are
   household items, some extravagant, such as an enormous bronze incense
   burner in the shape of a lion. Others are simple.
   but decorative - featuring the intricate geometric patterns,
   calligraphy and arabesques that dominate Islamic art because of Islam's
   taboo on depicting humans and animals.
   One of Canby's favorite pieces is a 10th century white bowl with black
   calligraphy that reads, 'Planning before work saves you from regret.'
   'That's a very charming statement, but the fact is the object itself, I
   think, is sublimely beautiful because of that purity of design," she
   said.
   And there are, of course, Koranic manuscripts with refined calligraphy.
   Although the new setting is huge, the 1,200 pieces on display represent
   only one-tenth of the museum's holdings of Islamic art.