Image: The galleries' gold iridescent steel roofMore than 2,500 objects from the Louvre's collection of Islamic art will go on show across nearly 3,000sq m (32,292sq ft) of new gallery space at the Paris attraction on 22 September.
The opening of new Islamic Art Galleries - designed by architects
Mario Bellini and
Rudy Ricciotti - is the first major addition to the Louvre since I M Pei's glass pyramid in 1989.
Located across two levels within a contemporary glass pavilion, the galleries are covered by a gold iridescent steel roof and open up the courtyard of the Cour Visconti for the first time.
Renaud Piérard's interior design concept will allow visitors to place the works on display - historically, geographically and within the original context of the pieces.
The objects on show come from 15,000 works within the Louvre's collection, as well as the 3,400 items on permanent loan from the Collection of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
A Louvre spokesperson said: "The galleries will present the entire cultural breadth of the Islamic world, from Spain to India, between the 17th and 19th century."
The scheme has been supported by a number of sponsors, including King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Kuwaiti emir Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah among others.
Click here for more information about the new Islamic Art Galleries at the Louvre
Image (c) 2012 Musée du Louvre, dist. RMN / Antoine Mongodin
