Qatar Museums unveils newly restored, millennia-old artwork

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) announced the completion of restoration of one of its most significant artworks — a monumental Iranian stucco panel dating from the 12th Century Saljuk dynasty.

Qatar Museums (QM) and Bank of America Merrill Lynch jointly undertook the restoration work.

It was a part of Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s global Art Conservation Project. It was the first time a financial institution was co-operating with QM and MIA.

The panel features a compilation of the ‘princely cycle,’ detailing feasting, hunting, music-making and the enjoyment of nature in the traditions of Persianate art and culture. It is now on permanent display in MIA’s galleries.

The panel’s conservation, which began in November 2012, took more than four years to complete. The project was led by the curatorial and conservation departments at MIA, with additional support from an archaeological illustrator from the University of Pennsylvania.

The restored artwork is one of only three monumental stucco panels from the highly celebrated era of Islamic art history.

The other two stucco panels are currently in North America: one in storage at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the other belonging to a private collector.