Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

The Chester Beatty is a museum and library within the grounds of Dublin Castle, holding material gathered by the mining magnate Alfred Chester Beatty. Its present museum opened on 7 February 2000, marking the 125th anniversary of Beatty’s birth; it received the European Museum of the Year title in 2002. Inside, the galleries unite handwritten works, small painted images, impressions, sketches, uncommon volumes and decorative arts from Persian, Islamic, East Asian and Western traditions.

Among the collection’s remarkable survivors are a Gospel linked to Mani and a volume from the earliest illustrated account of the Prophet’s life. The library also preserves Papyrus 45 and Papyrus 46, early Christian artefacts, as well as the Ibn al-Bawwab Qur’an, made by a celebrated medieval Islamic calligrapher. Look to the display cases for an extraordinary meeting of sacred texts, artistic skill and fragile history.