Is devoted to the early centuries of Islamic Art. It displays ceramics, metalwork, glass and minor arts made in the Muslim world between the 1st century AH/ 7th century AD and the 7th century AH/ 13th century AD. Politically, this period saw the expansion of the Muslim empire from its birth in the Arabian peninsular to the Atlantic shores of the Iberian peninsular in the West and the borders of China in the East. Early Islamic art built on older, Hellenistic and Persian models, but soon developed a distinct new style, which reflected the spirit of the Faith in its love for Arabic calligraphy and intricate ornamentation on the one hand and its increasing avoidance of figural themes on the other.