Los Angeles County Museum of Art to Lend Islamic Art to New Saudi Museum

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By Tre'vell Anderson

The Damascus room, a rare intact example of an 18th century reception room from a wealthy home in Syria, was acquired by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2014. It is being conserved and restored in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, a museum under... (Museum Associates / Los Angeles County Museum of Art)

CALIFORNIA---The Los Angeles County Museum of Art announced Tuesday its intention to lend more than 130 pieces of its Islamic art collection to a museum under construction in Saudi Arabia. The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture, scheduled to open in 2016, will show the LACMA pieces along with a new acquisition, a never-before shown 18th century room from a home in Damascus, Syria. The Damascus room, dated to 1766, is an example of the reception areas in upper-class homes where the head of household entertained honorable guests. Though most historic homes where this kind of room could be found have been destroyed, this particular example was dismantled intact in the al-Bahsa quarter of Damascus, LACMA said. [link]