"Art of the Arab Lands" is New Name for "Islamic Art" Gallery in NYC

THE MONTREAL GAZETTE
By Ellen Freilich

Closeup detail of an artwork done in ink, watercolor and gold on cotton cloth, entitled "Hamzanama (The Adventures of Hamza)" and attributed to artists Dasavanta and Mithra, is seen in this photo from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

NEW YORK - Fifteen renovated galleries offer fresh perspective on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection of more than 12,000 Islamic works of art spanning 13 centuries and an area ranging from Spain to India. While the collection was once succinctly termed Islamic Art, the museum now describes the works inhabiting the galleries as “Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia.” The new emphasis on geography grew out of the view that while religion unifies the collection, region diversifies it. “Islam is not a single lense through which we view and interpret the art,” said Navina Najat Haidar, curator and coordinator in the Met Museum’s department of Islamic art. “Rather, it’s an inverted lense that reveals great diversity.” [link]