The Department of Decorative Arts at the Louvre Museum in Paris houses rare collections that highlight the aesthetics and masterpieces of Islamic art. The museum is currently hosting an exhibition—running until December 31, 2026—that showcases a diverse array of Islamic decorative arts; these pieces are displayed in rooms 502, 503, 505, 507, and 519 of the Richelieu Wing. According to the Louvre’s website, there are deep ties and close affinities between the Department of Islamic Art and the Department of Decorative Arts; not only did these works circulate between East and West as early as the Middle Ages, but their techniques and motifs also served as a source of inspiration for European decorative arts. Islamic art has been displayed within the Decorative Arts department for over a century—a dialogue now revitalized through the exploration of three themes: light, color, and sculpture. The exhibition features approximately 50 pieces from the Department of Islamic Art, crafted from various materials and dating from the 9th to the 17th centuries. Originating from across the Islamic world, these objects allow visitors to discover the allure of the materials and the splendor of the region's artistry. Indeed, they are linked to the concept of *aja'ib*—an Arabic term denoting "wonders" that encompasses both the marvels of nature and the visual arts. The exhibition invites visitors to wander through the decorative arts galleries, where the story of the Islamic world's great technical and aesthetic innovations unfolds—along with the admiration they inspired in Europe and within French art collections—by showcasing key masterpieces from the Islamic art holdings. The Louvre Museum in Paris houses a dedicated Department of Islamic Art, showcasing thousands of rare artifacts from three continents spanning the 7th to the late 19th centuries. Notable pieces include the *Baptistère de Saint Louis* (a copper vessel inlaid with gold and silver), the *Tikrit Door* (a wooden door from the Abbasid era originating in Samarra), the *Pyxis of al-Mughira* (an intricately decorated Spanish Umayyad ivory box), and a collection of exquisite Egyptian and Ottoman carpets and textiles. The exhibited artworks are characterized by aesthetic harmony—emphasizing the interplay of Arabic calligraphy with floral and abstract motifs—and a diversity of materials, such as stained glass, glazed ceramics, and inlaid metalwork. They also reflect a vast geographical scope, encompassing works from Al-Andalus, Egypt, the Levant, and India. Overall, the Louvre’s Islamic collection ranks among the most significant in the world, comparable to those of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the British Museum in London. The museum's interest in acquiring Islamic artifacts dates back to the late 19th century—specifically 1890—driven by curators Gaston Migeon and Émile Molinier. Molinier established a dedicated gallery for Islamic art at the Louvre in 1893; subsequently, donations from prominent French collectors of Islamic art further enriched the collection, which today comprises thousands of pieces.

References: https://www.nizwa.om - https://www.louvre.fr/en/exhibitions-and-events/exhibitions/affinities https://www.archaeology.sa/?p=11928