The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, US, is to officially open a new-look suite of 15 galleries that houses its collection of Islamic art from around the world on 1 November.

Work has been carried out to enlarge and redesign the New Galleries for the Art of the Arab Lands, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and Later South Asia, which span 13 centuries.

More than 12,000 works of art originating from an area between Spain in the west and India in the east are featured in the collection, with 1,200 pieces to be put on show at any one time.

Efforts to renovate the galleries first commenced in 2003, with the scheme overseen over the last six years by curator and co-ordinator Navina Najat Haidar.

Exhibition design manager Michael Batista was responsible for the project design, while the museum's long-time architects Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates were also involved.

Museum director Thomas P Campbell said: "The 15 new galleries trace the course of Islamic civilisation, over a span of 13 centuries, from the Middle East to North Africa, Europe, and Central and South Asia."

Details: www.metmuseum.org

Image: Gallery 460: Art of the Ottoman Court (14th-20th centuries); Koç Family Gallery - (c) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York