Joining forces with the Musée du Louvre in France, one of the most renowned institutions in the world, Museum of Art Pudong (MAP) will present another major exhibition, The Wonder of Patterns: Masterpieces from India, Iran and the Ottoman World from the Musée du Louvre starting from December 13, 2025. This exhibition marks the Louvre's first-ever showcase in Shanghai, and it stands as the largest exhibition the museum has ever organized in China. 

Drawing upon the Louvre's vast collection, the exhibition is a majestic presentation of the culmination of artistic creation of India, Iran, and the Ottoman worlds from the 16th to the 19th centuries. It vividly highlights the interconnections and interactions between this vast region and Asia as well as Europe, bearing witness to how art gained new vitality through the encounter of civilizations. The art from these regions is known for its unique and rich aesthetic of patterns—floral motifs, poetic imagery, geometric designs—which, like a kaleidoscope, reflect the cultural and historical context of the time, and have provided an endless stream of inspiration for later art and design. Even today, we can find these dazzling patterns in jewelry, architecture, bookbinding, decorative, and graphic design. The exhibition unveils a specific historical period: frequent exchanges and interactions not only reshaped the world order but also drove artistic innovation, gave birth to new styles and trends, and created new dynamics between the East and the West.

Spanning from the 16th to the 19th centuries and a geographical scope across three continents, including Asia, Africa, and Europe, the exhibition is structured into three sections, presenting approximately 300 treasured pieces from the Louvre's collection. The exhibits encompass various important categories from Indian, Iranian, and Ottoman art, such as ceramics, jewelry, jade and hardstone objects, glassware, metalware, carpets, calligraphy, paintings, sculptures, and wood carvings. The exhibition opens with a selection of pieces from the collection of the French Sun King, Louis XIV. The subsequent three sections guide the visitors through an epic narrative journey, a magnificent exploration spanning different continents and four centuries. More importantly, never having been shown publicly in the Louvre since acquisition, a number of these works will be unveiled to the public for the first time through this exhibition. The Wonder of Patterns is once again designed by the renowned French scenographer Cécile Degos, who had designed for the Musée d'Orsay exhibition Paths to Modernity held at MAP. 

As one of the world's most renowned museums, the Louvre was born from the French Revolution. Its foundational collections were comprised of various artistic treasures from the French royal collections. During the reign of King Louis XIV in the 17th century, artworks from the Islamic world had entered the royal collections for the first time. Over the subsequent two centuries, these artistic treasures not only accompanied the birth of the Louvre but also witnessed numerous pivotal moments in French and global history.

The exhibition The Wonder of Patterns: Masterpieces from India, Iran and the Ottoman World from the Musée du Louvre was organised by the Musée du Louvre and Museum of Art Pudong, produced by Shanghai Lujiazui Development (Group) Company Limited, with the exceptional participation of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.