A key milestone in the final phase of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's 1993 master plan for construction in the southern part of its main building will be initiated this month, with the temporary closing of the galleries for Islamic art for enlargement, renovation, and restoration beginning June 2. Over the next several years, the 30-year-old galleries will be expanded to include additional display space and updated to reflect the most recent scholarship and museological practices.
To keep highlights from the collection on public view during this major renovation, some 60 outstanding works from the Department of Islamic Art will be shown beginning June 6 in a new installation on the south balcony overlooking the Museum's Great Hall. The display – which will be featured in this special location for four years, while construction and re-installation of the collection are in progress – will include highlights of the Museum's renowned collection of about 12,000 examples of Islamic art. The works date from the seventh through the 18th century and were created in the area that extends from Spain in the west to Central Asia and India in the east. (A checklist of the works on view in the installation is available on request.)
Philippe de Montebello, Director of the Metropolitan Museum, commented: "Given the present geopolitical situation and increased public interest in Islamic art, this is an unfortunate moment to announce the temporary closing of the Islamic Galleries. But I am extremely proud that so many of the finest works from our Department of Islamic Art
will remain on view within the Metropolitan – either in the special installation on the
Great Hall balcony or inbricated throughout the Museum in the galleries of other departments. The ability to continue to show these works – side by side with related works from other cultures – can only be found in an encyclopedic museum like the Met."
The works on view in the new installation represent most of the major media employed in Islamic art. Those made of materials that are sensitive to light – such as textiles and works on paper – will be shown on a rotating schedule. Additional examples of Islamic art will be on view elsewhere within the Museum – specifically in the galleries for ancient Near Eastern, Asian, and medieval art – in the context of closely related objects from other artistic traditions and geographic areas.
While the galleries are closed, Islamic art will also continue to be represented at the Museum through public programs and special exhibitions, in response to heightened public interest.
Renovation of the Islamic Galleries coincides with construction, in the space below, of the Museum's new galleries for Roman and Etruscan art. Construction of the Roman Court represents the final phase of the decade-long, three-phase Masterplan for the Greek and Roman Galleries that began with the opening of The Robert and Renée Belfer Court in 1996.
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