Eye’s Delight celebrates the capital of Iraq as one of the most important and influential cities in the Islamic world.

The exhibition features objects on loan from 22 world-renowned institutions, including the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Benaki Museum, the Vatican and the Barjeel Foundation. These will include artefacts, photographs and video footage.

The display takes the visitor on an imaginary tour across centuries, highlighting Baghdad’s role as a city of power, scholarship, and riches. It also explores Baghdad’s role as a city of industry and commerce, from the flourishing trade under the Abbasids to the development of modern infrastructure in the 20th century. The journey ends with a look at the city’s social fabric, its cosmopolitan population and many traditions, which have – despite war and destruction – enabled the city to thrive, time and time again.

The exhibition is jointly curated by Dr. Julia Gonnella, Director, Museum of Islamic Art and MIA Curatorial Team: Dr. Mounia Chekhab Abudaya, Dr. Tara Desjardins, Nicoletta Fazio and Simone Struth.