Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia

A tiled prayer niche, a painted reception room and a gold case offer three useful ways into these galleries. They come from different places and served very different purposes. The niche marked a prayer direction, the room received guests and the case held a remedy. In Gallery 455, the Mihrab (Prayer Niche) combines small pieces of glazed tile into patterns and Arabic inscriptions. Such a niche marked the direction of prayer in a mosque. The Damascus Room in Gallery 461 brings you into the setting of a wealthy Syrian household. View its raised seating area and decorated woodwork from the visitor opening. In Gallery 463, the Goa Stone and Gold Case brings the scale down to an object that could be held. The collection spans regions from the Arab lands to South Asia. Read the place and date beside each work as you move between the galleries. The tiled niche came from Iran, the reception room from Damascus and the remedy case from the trading world around Goa.