Priceless artifacts that span various Islamic eras will be on display today at Katara as a preview to Sotheby’s biannual Arts of the Islamic World auction in London.

Arabian Business reports:

With the growth in museums in Qatar and around the region, such as the planned Louvre and Guggenheim museums in Abu Dhabi and the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, there is growing business in the region for Islamic pieces of art and auction houses have flooded to the region to take advantage of the rapid growth in sales.

The two-day exhibition, which is located at Gallery 22 and closes today, includes some 40 pieces of art worth millions of dollars, including:

• A 10th/11th century Fatimid white-ground lustre pottery jar, from Egypt worth more than $750,000;
• A similarly priced rare early Islamic silver-gilt cup with Kufic inscription, from Persia, dated 11th/12th century; and
• A rare Qur’an leaf in late Hijazi script dating back to the late 7th-8th century written in a transitional script that lies between Hijazi and Kufic, worth up to $250,000.

Has anyone checked it out?

Thoughts?