New York to exhibit Persian art in 2011
A piece of the 16th-century 'Emperor's Carpet'
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is developing a refurbishing project to exhibit Persian artworks in its Islamic art galleries.

Located above the museum's relatively new Greek and Roman Galleries, the exhibitions are expected to open in fall 2011 and will be dedicated to Safavid ad Persian art.

The 50-million-dollar refurbishing project includes a 10-million-dollar endowment by New York philanthropists Sharmin and Bijan Mossavar-Rahmani.

“I come from a family of collectors that goes back generations and…I thought this gift would help kick off the fund-raising and underscore the importance of Iranian and Persian art,” Mr. Mossavar-Rahmani told the New York Times in a telephone interview.

According to the Met director Thomas P. Campbell, the museum's Persian art collection includes many exquisite pieces, including the 16th-century 'Emperor's Carpet' and an illuminated manuscript of the Persian epic poet Ferdowsi's magnum opus Shahnameh.