While I was in Paris making friends for The Gallery at the Institut du Monde Arabe and several private galleries, I visited the spectacular, if controversial, new Islamic Wing at the Louvre. Built over ten years, and at huge expense, the gallery, with its undulating glass roof reminiscent of a tent (or some say a carpet) speaks to I.M. Pei’s glass pyramid in the courtyard. Prince Waleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia is the largest donor, and the gallery houses the largest collection of Islamic art in Europe, from the seventh to the nineteenth centuries. The two-story space will feature a rotating selection from the Louvre’s 18,000 piece Islamic collection.
The space features interactive elements such as historical maps of Islamic conquests traced through the movement of colored lights across the continents, and a black wall upon which various elements of calligraphy appear traced by an invisible hand. The lower level is visible from above, to offer the viewer a grand expanse of mosaic floors from Turkish excavations, as well as several vast carpets. All the exhibits are located on slightly angled small platforms, each featuring a mashrabeya panel, a wall of tile work, glass, pottery, or magnificent metalwork candle holders or mosque lamps, among the many historical treasures on display.
And therein lies the controversy. The pieces are mixed together in a loosely thematic fashion, not in a chronological progression, and not by cultural area. Instead, works from the Arab Near East are interspersed with those from the Persian cultures of Iran and Afghanistan, along with some Silk Road artifacts from Samarkand and the like. This has the effect of mixing together the culture and history of profoundly different civilizations. Some scholars have objected to the labeling as well, finding errors of attribution or misleading information.
Additionally, there is some controversy in presenting these works as the static achievements of a dead civilization, instead of contextualizing them into contemporary history and art. While this ongoing argument about the role of museums in representing cultures cannot be resolved, perhaps the roles are logically shared by the exhibition of contemporary works in other venues such as the galleries of the Institut du Monde Arabe.
At any rate, the new wing allows viewers the opportunity to see magnificent examples of historical Islamic art in a stunning setting.
