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In 1994, the British Islamic art dealer, Olive Hoare, brokered one of the most remarkable art deals of recent times. More than 100 pages of the greatest work of classical Persian literature, the Book of Kings or "Shahnameh", held by a collector in the US, were exchanged for a painting by the 20th century Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning, in the collection of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art. Oliver Hoare died some years ago, but his posthumous memoir of the swap -- called "The Exchange - Shahnameh/de Kooning" -- has just been published. Roxane Zand is a writer, curator and former Deputy Chairman for the Middle East at the auctioneers, Sotheby's. She knew Oliver Hoare very well.

(Image: Detail of The Court of Kayumars, from the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (Folio 20V), attributed to Sultan Muhammad, Iran, Tabriz, c. 1524-25, The Aga Khan Museum)