Clandestine Trade

"Two utterly disparate artworks now on view in Manhattan—a centuries-old masterpiece and a modernist grotesque of immense price—are linked by a history that has remained largely in the shadows. At the Metropolitan Museum's newly reopened Islamic galleries you can see the first, the Shahnama of Shah Tahmasp, or parts of it at least. A gloriously illuminated manuscript from the 16th century, generally considered one of Muslim civilization's foremost artistic expressions, it came to be known as the 'Houghton' Shahnama. Why it is no longer called that, why the Met has some 78 of the initial 258 pictorial folios, and how and why the remainder of the original volume went back to Iran in a clandestine swap for the second artwork are all part of the story.

You can see that second work, simply known as 'Woman III,' at the Museum of Modern Art until Jan. 9 as part of 'de Kooning: A Retrospective.'"  [Read Full Article]

Published by:  The Wall Street Journal
On:  12/08/11
Website:  http://online.wsj.com

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