Islamic Arts: A Past for a Present

Portrait of Mahd-e Ulya, mother of Nasir Al Din Shah. Iran 1850–1860. ©Musée du Louvre, Dist. RMN–Grand Palais / Claire Tabbagh / Collections Numérique.

Islamic Arts: A Past for a Present is an initiative organised by the French Réunion des Musées Nationaux-Grand Palais, and led by the head of the Louvre’s Islamic art department, Yannick Lintz, loaning some 210 works to museums in 18 French cities to showcase the diversity of Islamic culture.. Amongst the objects on loan are an 11th-century lamp from a Jerusalem mosque, and a chandelier recounting the life of Jesus from the 12th century Saladin era . The shows also feature objects from India that belonged to French King Louis XIV, and exceptional Iranian carpets from the 17th century. The museums hosting the works are in Angoulême, Blois, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Figeac, Reunion, Limoges, Mantes-la-Jolie, Marseille, Nancy, Nantes , Narbonne, Rennes, Rillieux-la-Pape (Rhône), Rouen, Saint-Denis, Toulouse and Tourcoing.