NARRATOR: These wooden doors date from the time of the Abbasid Caliphate. It’s the period associated with the Arabian Nights, when the Islamic Empire was at its political, economic and cultural apex.

STEFAN HEIDEMANN: A lot of building activities are associated with this period. New cities were founded. Some of the cities… had an enormous size, which shows the wealth of the Empire.

NARRATOR: Curator Stephan Heidemann points out that these doors are thought to have come from a palace in the city of Samarra, in Iraq. They show a development from a previous building style – which had used many conventions from the classical past. In these doors we see the flowering of a new, wholly Islamic style.

STEFAN HEIDEMANN: It's called the beveled style. It is not the only style used in Samarra, but it is its most prominent. The background vanishes by the beveling of the ornaments. And this beveling style with this high abstraction is one of the most intricate developments in Islamic art. As an imperial style, it spread very soon to Egypt and to Eastern Iran where you'll find similar objects in the showcases. The palaces of Samarra are famous for their interior decoration. Imagine these doors as part of this splendid interior, and imagine the Caliph of the Arabian Nights coming just through it.