On November 1st, 2011, the the New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opened. Eight years in the making and arranged across fifteen rooms, these galleries showcase some 1,200 artworks, including exceptional examples of manuscripts, textiles, glass, ceramics, jewellery, armour, painting, scientific instruments, wood stone and ivory, from one of the most important collections of Islamic art outside the Middle East. In this insightful essay, published in December 2011, Peter Brown reviews the galleries and the accompanying catalogue.

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