A NEW EXHIBITION opening tomorrow at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle will display works of art never seen before in public.

The A – Z: from Amulet to Zodiac exhibition offers an alphabetical tour of precious objects chosen to explore links between Western, Islamic and East Asian culture.

The items going on display include French Revolutionary Tribunal records of Marie Antoinette’s trial and execution, jade snuff bottles and medieval Books of Hours, which were produced for private religious devotion.

The Chester Beatty Library The Chester Beatty Library

Library Director Fionnuala Croke explained that the exhibition was planned “to showcase the diversity of Chester Beatty’s remarkable collection” and includes “some surprises”.

“The collections team worked together to make the selection and we were spoilt for choice,” Croke said.

Opening the exhibition, which runs until 1 February 2015, Taoiseach Enda Kenny described the Chester Beatty collection as “one of the greatest gifts this country ever received”.

The Chester Beatty Library The Chester Beatty Library

“The range of this new exhibition is genuinely staggering,” he added.

From Demons to Kings, from Gardens to Wings, this is an aesthetic journey where each individual object will speak to every visitor in a different way.  Time spent in the Chester Beatty is a really enjoyable opportunity for quiet meditations among powerful texts and artefacts from east and west, presented beautifully and curated with care, expertise and passion.

Born in New York in 1875, Alfred Chester Beatty made his fortune in mining before relocating to London and pursuing his interests in collecting minerals, rare books, manuscripts and paintings. He moved to Ireland in 1950 and his collection was entrusted to the Irish people upon his death.

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