DOHA: Qatar Museums (QM) yesterday announced a partnership between Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the conservation of a monumental stucco panel from the medieval Saljuk era of Iran.
The Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide funding for the conservation of one of the most important masterpieces in MIA’s collections as part of the bank’s global Art Conservation Project. It marks the first time a financial institution has partnered with QM and MIA. It is also the first time that funds have been directly linked to a specific item in MIA’s collection.
Acting MIA Director Daniel Brown said: “One of the key parts of MIA’s mission is to share ongoing research with the public in the forms of exhibitions, publications, and learning and interpretation activities.
“Now through this support from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, we will be able to present the stucco panel to the public while providing a completely new interpretation and revealing original and historic restoration methods.”
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Mena President Arshad Ghafur said: “We are proud to support MIA by helping conserve this important piece of history, a monumental stucco panel from the medieval Saljuk era of Iran, for the learning and enjoyment of future generations.
“Our global Art Conservation Project is designed to conserve artworks, educate communities and help ensure understanding and respect for the varied cultures and traditions throughout the world.”
The panel features a compilation of the ’princely cycle’, detailing feasting, hunting, music-making and the enjoyment of nature in the traditions of Persian art and culture.
However, new conservation treatments have revealed glimpses of as-yet unknown details of the composition, including previously partially-obscured and heavily restored figures, and new clues about the construction methods of the panel.
It is one of three monumental stucco panels from the highly celebrated era of Islamic art history, and the only one scheduled for permanent public display.
The other two panels are in North America: One in storage at Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the other belonging to a private collector.
The MIA panel will be the only piece to be scientifically and rigorously examined and conserved. The project also involves scheduled exhibitions, publications and the production of a wide range of interpretive and learning activities and materials.
MIA will use new data to produce enhanced information panels when the piece is unveiled in MIA’s permanent galleries in late 2016, and provide more accurate information in a monograph to be published in 2017.
The project will be led by MIA’s curatorial and conservation departments, with additional support from an archaeological illustrator from University of Pennsylvania.
Colleagues from University College London-Qatar and University College London will also work on the materials science analyses and 3D scanning, and learning and interpretation outputs will be developed with MIA and QM education teams.
The Peninsula
DOHA: Qatar Museums (QM) yesterday announced a partnership between Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch on the conservation of a monumental stucco panel from the medieval Saljuk era of Iran.
The Bank of America Merrill Lynch will provide funding for the conservation of one of the most important masterpieces in MIA’s collections as part of the bank’s global Art Conservation Project. It marks the first time a financial institution has partnered with QM and MIA. It is also the first time that funds have been directly linked to a specific item in MIA’s collection.
Acting MIA Director Daniel Brown said: “One of the key parts of MIA’s mission is to share ongoing research with the public in the forms of exhibitions, publications, and learning and interpretation activities.
“Now through this support from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, we will be able to present the stucco panel to the public while providing a completely new interpretation and revealing original and historic restoration methods.”
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Mena President Arshad Ghafur said: “We are proud to support MIA by helping conserve this important piece of history, a monumental stucco panel from the medieval Saljuk era of Iran, for the learning and enjoyment of future generations.
“Our global Art Conservation Project is designed to conserve artworks, educate communities and help ensure understanding and respect for the varied cultures and traditions throughout the world.”
The panel features a compilation of the ’princely cycle’, detailing feasting, hunting, music-making and the enjoyment of nature in the traditions of Persian art and culture.
However, new conservation treatments have revealed glimpses of as-yet unknown details of the composition, including previously partially-obscured and heavily restored figures, and new clues about the construction methods of the panel.
It is one of three monumental stucco panels from the highly celebrated era of Islamic art history, and the only one scheduled for permanent public display.
The other two panels are in North America: One in storage at Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the other belonging to a private collector.
The MIA panel will be the only piece to be scientifically and rigorously examined and conserved. The project also involves scheduled exhibitions, publications and the production of a wide range of interpretive and learning activities and materials.
MIA will use new data to produce enhanced information panels when the piece is unveiled in MIA’s permanent galleries in late 2016, and provide more accurate information in a monograph to be published in 2017.
The project will be led by MIA’s curatorial and conservation departments, with additional support from an archaeological illustrator from University of Pennsylvania.
Colleagues from University College London-Qatar and University College London will also work on the materials science analyses and 3D scanning, and learning and interpretation outputs will be developed with MIA and QM education teams.
The Peninsula
