In a speech last October, President Jacques Chirac proposed the creation of a new department in the Louvre dedicated to Islamic Art. This department, in Chirac’s view, would not only be an instrument of diplomacy but also of interior policy and will “highlight the universal vocation of this museum and will be a living example of cultural dialogue.”

Indeed during a period of racial and religious prejudices, the creation of such a department would have an effect on each group’s understanding and perception of the other. Yet so far, and despite Chirac’s resolution, the Louvre has not found the required funds or space to display its collection of Islamic Art.

The Louvre, 19 November 2003 — France’s national art museum — is one of the oldest European museums and is the largest and most impressive art museum in the world. Its collections are vast and all cannot be seen in a single day. In fact, one could spend days wandering the rooms and halls and still not see everything. Originally built as a royal fortress at the beginning of the 13th century, the building was meant for defense. Its construction extended over three centuries; additions were made to its structure during the reigns of almost every subsequent French king. It was abandoned as a royal residence when Louis XIV moved the court to Versailles in 1682.

After the French Revolution in 1789, Napoleon I, later kings and Napoleon III used the Louvre as offices and also as a museum. In 1793, the first state museum was opened in the Louvre. It consisted of the former royal collections of paintings and sculptures; in 1848 these became the property of the state.

The Louvre continues to evolve. Over the years and due to the increasing number of visitors, changes were seen to be necessary in order to meet the public’s needs. In 1981, François Mitterrand approached the Chinese-American architect Pei Ieoh Ming and in 1989, a glass pyramid in the courtyard which he designed was opened. Thanks to the extension, the Louvre today can accommodate an average of five million visitors a year.

The collections are divided into seven departments: Oriental Antiquities (with a section dedicated to Islamic Art), Egyptian Antiquities (with a section dedicated to Coptic Art), Greek, Etruscan and Roman Antiquities; Decorative Arts (including the French crown jewels, Napoleon III’s apartments and furniture); the Modern sections with departments of painting, sculpture, prints and drawing. In addition, there is a section dedicated to the history of the Louvre.

The departments are located in different areas around the interior of the palace and each department has several rooms. Among the famous ancient works of art in the Oriental Antiquities Department is the stele bearing Hammurabi’s Code.

Probably the masterpiece of the Department of Paintings is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. Actually the Department of Paintings is considered the most important in the world and it covers the history of European painting from the mid-13th century to the mid-19th.

The Louvre’s Islamic collection is one of the most important in the Western world. The section was established in 1890 and includes works ranging from ceramics, metals, glassware, woodwork, ivories, textiles, miniatures, manuscripts, papyri, stone. The collection is displayed in chronological order, from the Umayyad dynasty (661-750) to the 19th century.

Only one-tenth of the collection which consists of 10,000 items is on display in the galleries.

After Chirac’s speech, the President of the Louvre, Henri Loyrette, was asked by the government to present different suggestions for displaying the entire collection. The solution he favored was the transfer of the Museums of the Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs (UCAD), which includes the Museums of Advertising, Fashion and Decorative Art, from the present location beside the Louvre. Its collections would be housed elsewhere, thereby giving the Louvre more gallery space.

In addition, the Museum of Decorative Arts has a rich collection of Islamic works dating from the mid-15th to the 18th century, none of which has been on display since 1972.

The idea is good but due to internal French politics, nothing has yet come of it. No compromise has been reached and the Louvre is left with searching for ways to accommodate the Islamic collections within the 65,000 square meters of the museum.

(Mona Khazindar is a Saudi writer. She is based in Paris.)