Louvre to open new wing dedicated to Islamic art

A new wing featuring Islamic art is due to open this summer at the Louvre, one of the most important museums in the art world. It is pitted to be the biggest development to the home of the Mona Lisa, since I. M. Pei created the iconic glass pyramid twenty years ago. “Owing to its geographic diversity, the historical periods covered, and the wide variety of materials and techniques represented,\" the museum press release says, the new department will be one of the most comprehensive collections of Muslim art in the world.   The latest gallery space in the Parisian cultural institution is expected to display over 2,500 works including pieces of art from the Louvre\'s own collection in addition to loans from the collection of the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. Galleries within the new wing will cover the entire scope of Islamic art, from Spain to India and will be displayed in a chronological order from the 7th until the 19th century. \"The new wing will adjoin the museum’s presentation of late antique art from the eastern Mediterranean, including works from Roman and Coptic Egypt, Syria, Phoenicia and Palestine (in a redesigned exhibition space entitled The Eastern Mediterranean Provinces of the Roman Empire),\" a press release from the museum explains. After four and a half years of the works, the final phase of the project is expected to take place within the coming weeks. Once all the collections are installed, the new wing will be opened to the public by summer 2012.