Etihad carries Louvre Abu Dhabi masterpieces

The collection was flown over by Etihad Crystal Cargo to Abu Dhabi in several shipments from Frankfurt and Paris. Etihad used a combination of passenger and cargo aircraft for the important project, including an Airbus A340 and MD11F.

The exhibition, being held at the Emirates Palace, was opened last month by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.

Des Vertannes, Etihad Airways' executive vice president cargo, said:

"We are very proud to have been chosen to carry these priceless pieces of art for the Talking Art Louvre Abu Dhabi exhibition, which demonstrates once again our development as a leading global cargo company. Etihad Crystal Cargo last year successfully carried 8 shipments, consisting of 168 pieces of art, for the Picasso exhibition and we are delighted to be given this tremendous honour of bringing the collection to Abu Dhabi which will undoubtedly be one of the high lights of this summer."

The masterpieces on display at Talking Art Louvre Abu Dhabi include a Greek ceramic figure from around 520 B.C. and two 1862 canvases by Edouard Manet. There is also a standing bodhisattva from the second to third century A.D and a canvas by Jean-François de Troy, "Esther Fainting Before Ahaseurus," from 1730.

Talking Art Louvre Abu Dhabi runs until the 29 August and is part of a series of exhibitions organized by the Tourism Development & Investment Company ahead of the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island.

The 260,000-square-foot Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel, is expected to open in the UAE's capital city in 2012 / 2013.