The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) has unveiled a new gallery devoted to the Ancient Middle East. The project takes on added significance as the militant group Isil continues to destroy cultural heritage sites across Iraq and Syria. “One way to counter cultural destruction is to foster international awareness and appreciation of what’s at stake,” says Swarupa Anila, the DIA’s director of interpretive engagement.
One of the treasures on display, a stone slab depicting an Assyrian king (eighth century BC), was uncovered at Nimrud, an ancient city in Iraq ravaged by Isil last March. The new display includes 177 pieces from Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Rome and the Arabian Kingdom (today’s Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Yemen), such as a glazed tile panel from Babylon’s Ishtar Gate (around 575BC), cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals and a Roman floor mosaic.
Masterpieces from the museum’s Ancient Middle East collection have been displayed in the space since 2007, but a more permanent installation was delayed partly by fundraising challenges. The project cost around $300,000. During the past year and a half, curators held visitor focus groups to help refine their plans. “Our big idea is the interplay of art and technologies and the way that they are harnessed in the development of major empires,” Anila says.
