São Paulo – In the second half of this year, approximately 2,000 pieces of Islamic art made over the course of over 1,300 years will gain a new facility in the world’s most famous museum. The Louvre, in Paris, is investing US$ 125 million in its new Islamic art wing.
The wing will be covered by a scarf-shaped glass roof in an inner patio of the museum. The ceiling’s design was inspired by the silk headscarves Muslim women wear.
According to information from the architectural firm of Mario Bellini, who is in charge of the project, the new wing will cover a 4,600 square metre area spanning two floors. The ground level will house artwork created from the centuries 7 to 10 AD. Pieces made from the 11th to the 19th century will be housed in an underground storey, as well as a collection of carpets.
More than just a shape, the glass ceiling will actually have a purpose within the project. It will filter sunlight, thus preventing excessive clarity in the inside of the building. It has also been planned to be seen by visitors in the lower storey of the new wing. According to the project’s authors, the roof is intended to unify the collections underneath it. Bellini’s firm was chosen after winning a contest held by the museum in 2005.
The Louvre’s Islamic art collection comprises sculpted vases, plates with designs, shrouds, sculptures and trunks. According to the museum, all of the items were “produced throughout a broad geographic region, under Islamic rule, by artists and craftsmen who may have been Islamic by birth, converts to the faith, Jews or Christians.” These artists were influenced by the Greek, Roman and Western European cultures.
One of the works is a panel comprised of 60 tiles which decorated the mausoleum of sultan Selim II (1524-1574), of the Ottoman Empire. Others include an astrolabe dating from 1145 and a ceramic plate made in the 10th century using a glass decoration technique developed in the 8th century.
This is not the first time that the Louvre ventures into the Arab world. In March 2007, the governments of France and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to build a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi. The new unit, which should promote a “dialogue” between the Western and Middle Eastern cultures, should be inaugurated in 2014.
The Louvre was built between the 12th and 19th centuries by the kings of France. The first part of the building was conceived during the reign of Phillip II Augustus (1180-1223) to protect Paris from attacks. It was meant to be a fortress, but as the years passed new annexes were built as ordered by different monarchs.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
