The lead curator responsible for a major new Islamic art gallery at the British Museum in London has said that the new space will allow the “full range of the collections to be deployed”, with many objects going on show for the first time. Venetia Porter, the curator of the Islamic collections at the museum, said that glass, metalwork, ceramics, ethnography, miniature paintings, and other items dating from the beginning of Islam in the seventh century to today will go on display in the the Albukhary Foundation Gallery of the Islamic World, which is due to open in October 2018.

Read More: British Museum Announces New Islamic Art Gallery

See also: British Museum Announces Major Gallery Dedicated to Islamic World

Art from the Islamic world will be shown in the heart of the British Museum, instead of on the sidelines, in two new galleries funded by a Malaysian foundation which hopes to offset the image created by Islamic militants. The museum, which houses one of the world’s largest collections of art and artefacts, said on Thursday it plans to open two new galleries in its south wing devoted to its extensive collection of art from the Islamic world. Until now works from the collection have been displayed in a gallery tucked away on the north side of the massive building, a long walk from the main entrance.

Read More: New Islamic Art Exhibits Planned to Counter Islam’s Militant Image