Met Museum Announces Summer Schedule of Chats about Art from the Middle East

Perspectives on the Middle East—a series of informal 10-minute chats at The Metropolitan Museum of Art by curators, researchers, and conservators who specialize in ancient Near Eastern and Islamic art—will continue on Friday afternoons through August. Each talk will focus on one or more works of the speaker’s choice and will be followed by conversation with the audience.

The talks are free with Museum admission.

Program subject to change.


June 9

3 p.m., Gallery 452 and 457
Lusterware from Iraq to Al-Andalus"
Alzahraa K. Ahmed, Hagop Kevorkian Curatorial Fellow, and
Courtney A. Stewart, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 462
Fortune-Telling in 16th-Century Iran
Sheila Canby, Patti Cadby Birch Curator in Charge, Department of Islamic Art

4 p.m., Gallery 406
A Dragon from Babylon, Iraq
Michael Seymour, Assistant Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 405
Greek Artists and Persian Kings at Persepolis
Sarah Graff, Associate Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


June 16

3 p.m., Gallery 453
Soldiers and Jewels
Martina Rugiadi, Assistant Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 457
The Ornament of the World: Islamic Arts from Cordoba
Courtney A. Stewart, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art

4 p.m., Gallery 405
Palmyrene Portraits
Blair Fowlkes-Childs, Research Associate, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 405
Hidden Histories of the Met Excavations at Ctesiphon, Iraq
Caitlin Chaves Yates, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Fellow, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


June 23

3 p.m., Gallery 462
Iran and Europe: Artistic Exchanges
Maryam Ekhtiar, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 454
Animal Tiles
Martina Rugiadi, Assistant Curator, Department of Islamic Art

4 p.m., Gallery 402
A Wild Boar from Ancient Iran
Sarah Graff, Associate Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 403
Gudea and Kingship in Ancient Iraq
Miriam Said, Markoe Scholar, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


June 30

3 p.m., Gallery 450
Islamic Calligraphy: A Close Look
Maryam Ekhtiar, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 454
Mashrabiyyas: Wooden Screens from Egypt
Alzahraa K. Ahmed, Hagop Kevorkian Curatorial Fellow, Department of Islamic Art

4 p.m., Gallery 406
Ancient Yemen and the Incense Trade
Michael Seymour, Assistant Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 404
Imperial Interactions: Lion Pins from Hasanlu, Ancient Iran
Anastasia Amrhein, Andrew W. Mellon Fellow, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


July 7

3 p.m., Gallery 457
An Andalusian Game of Chess
Navina Haidar, Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 452
Traces of China in Nishapur
Layah Ziaii-Bigdeli, Intern, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4 p.m., Gallery 400
Ivory Thrones in Ancient Iraq
Sarah Graff, Associate Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 406
The Synagogue at Dura Europos, Syria
Blair Fowlkes-Childs, Research Associate, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


July 14

3 p.m., Gallery 456
Details in the Moroccan Courtyard
Courtney Stewart, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 464
Conservation Treatment of a Printed Indian Textile
Julia Carlson, Assistant Conservator, Department of Textile Conservation

4 p.m., Gallery 405
Women in Sassanian Art
Layah Ziaii-Bigdeli, Intern, Department of Islamic Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 404
An Ivory Head from Nimrud, Iraq
Michael Seymour, Assistant Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


July 21

3 p.m., Gallery 451
Lusterware through a Conservator’s Eyes
Jean-François de Lapérouse, Conservator, Department of Objects Conservation

3:30 p.m., Gallery 453
Painting in Gold and Silver: The Art of Inlaid Metalworking from Iran to Syria
Deniz Beyazit, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art

4 p.m., Gallery 404
The Master of Animals in Ancient Iran
Anne Elizabeth Dunn-Vaturi, Hagop Kevorkian Research Associate, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 403
Temple upon Temple at Nippur, Iraq
Caitlin Chaves Yates, Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Research Fellow, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


July 28

3 p.m., Gallery 454
Animals of Protection and of Power
Deniz Beyazit, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 459
Discoveries Made during the Conservation of the Spanish Ceiling
Mecka Baumeister, Conservator, Department of Objects Conservation

4 p.m., Gallery 404
A Stone Carpet from Nineveh, Iraq
Yelena Rakic, Associate Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art

4:30 p.m., Gallery 403
A Golden Goddess from Ancient Turkey
Sarah Graff, Associate Curator, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art


August 4

3 p.m., Gallery 451
Golden Peacocks
Maryam Ekhtiar, Associate Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 450
Marbled Paper
Yana Van Dyke, Conservator, Department of Paper Conservation


August 11

3 p.m. Gallery 458
Conservation Discoveries in Carpets for Kings
Janina Poskrobko, Conservator in Charge, Department of Textile Conservation

3:30 p.m., Gallery 452
Hidden creatures
Martina Rugiadi, Assistant Curator, Department of Islamic Art


August 18

3 p.m., Gallery 453
The Power of Ink
Martina Rugiadi, Assistant Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 463
Mughal Jewels and Gemstones
Courtney A. Stewart, Senior Research Assistant, Department of Islamic Art


August 25

3 p.m., Gallery 453
The Value of Gold
Martina Rugiadi, Assistant Curator, Department of Islamic Art

3:30 p.m., Gallery 459
Ushak Carpets
Giulia Chiostrini, Associate Conservator, Department of Textile Conservation


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Updated July 28, 2017