Paradise on show: Inside the exotic retreat of tobacco heiress Doris Duke as her treasures arrive in New York for first public display

Shangri La is a 14,000-square-foot house on a sprawling complex that includes a guesthouse, 75-foot-long saltwater pool, terraces, lawns, gardens and water features.
The exhibit features large-scale digital screens of newly commissioned photographs by Tim Street-Porter of its exterior and interior.
Duke first fell in love with Islamic art and architecture on her honeymoon in 1935.

The willowy and beautiful 22-year-old bride and her groom, James Cromwell, traveled throughout the Middle East and South Asia, finishing up in Hawaii where, captivated by its beauty, they decided to build Shangri La.
Duke was raised in a Fifth Avenue mansion in Manhattan and was the only daughter of tobacco magnate John Buchanan Duke.
She was only 12 when she inherited $100 million upon his death, and was quickly dubbed 'the richest girl in the world.'

A footed basin from Spain that dates back to the early 16th Century is among the artifacts from the estate that are featured in the exhibit

This bizarre silver pitcher from late 19th Century Kashmir will be on display

She shunned publicity all her life, and Shangri La was built in Hawaii in large part so she could avoid the glare of the media.

An early to mid-17th molded stonepaste molded bottle from Iran is among the artifacts that are featured in the exhibit

Duke had one daughter who died shortly after birth and adopted an adult woman in the 1980s from whom she became estranged a few years later.
Exhibition co-curator Tom Mellins described Shangri La as an 'inventive synthesis' of the traditional and modern.
As Duke collected historic works, she commissioned new ones too, from artists in India, Morocco, Iran and Syria, Pope said.
'This juxtaposition of old and new to create an environment, an architectural context in which to display historical works, is what makes Shangri La so unique,' she said.
There are about 70 objects in the show. The earliest piece is an exquisite first-millennium gold jug.
Other highlights include ceramics and glassware from the 10th to the 20th century, mother-of-pearl 18th-century furniture from Turkey and Syria, a silver pitcher from Kashmir, a Spanish earthenware charger and a pair of 19th-century wood and copper courtyard doors with Arabic calligraphy.
Archival photographs, schematic drawings and an architectural model of the complex also are included.

A room with a view: Shangri La captured from the ocean in days gone by

Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey was opened to the public in May 2012, run by the Doris Duke Foundation since the heiress' death

The exhibition also features new works by six contemporary artists of Islamic descent who were all artists in residence at Shangri La.
'What makes it interesting for our museum is not only the history of the house ... but also the interaction between the artists there and the work they're doing in response to the house,' said museum Director Holly Hotchner.
The residency program began in 2004 with one artist and has grown to include two to three a year.
Duke's collecting was personal but she also had a larger goal in mind, said Mellins. She created the Foundation for Islamic Art because she wanted 'Americans to understand the art and architecture of that part of the world more fully and deeply than they did,' said Mellins.

A mosaic panel, specially made for Doris Duke's home 1938-39 at a workshop in Iran

An eighteenth century Syrian chest made from wood with mother-of-pearl, and metal fill