British Museum casts a keen eye on Islamic culture with plans for a new gallery

THE NATIONAL
By Ben East

Michael Rakowitz’s The Invisible Enemy Should Not Exist – Headless Female Figure. Courtesy The Trustees of the British Museum

UNITED KINGDOM---In the same week that the British Museum announced plans for a major new gallery dedicated to the Islamic world, news began to filter through that ISIL militants were tearing apart ancient cities in Iraq full of priceless artefacts, manuscripts, sculptures and buildings. As Venetia Porter, the lead curator of Islamic art at the British Museum, marvels at the beautifully detailed archaeological finds from Samarra in Iraq in the British Museum’s current display, the irony is not lost on her. [link]