Running through February, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is premiering a new exhibition of over 100 Iranian artworks dating from the 6th to the 19th century entitled Bestowing Beauty: Masterpieces from Persian Lands .
The exhibit is part of the Art of the Islamic Worlds initiative which has produced the acquisition of 64 works and 275 scholarly volumes for the library, opened two new galleries dedicated to Islamic art, and entered into a long-term loan agreement with Kuwait’s Al-Sabah collection which is considered one of the world’s greatest collections of Islamic art.
“The initiative is a commitment that the diverse culture of historic Islamic lands will be part of our collection as an encyclopedic museum,” says Aimée Froom, the museum’s Islamic art curator. “Islamic art is a bit of a misnomer. We call our department the Art of the Islamic Worlds to really emphasize it is a tapestry of worlds, with many different ethnicities and regional traditions. It’s not a monolithic entity.”
“Bestowing Beauty: Masterpieces from Persian Lands” is on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from November 19, 2017–February 11, 2018.
