Stone & Stucco
Stone & Stucco Stone and stucco have a long history in the art and cultures that became the Islamic world. Even as far back as the Bronze Age, stone was used to create almost reverential objects of sacred animals, demons and gods/goddesses.Stone and stucco remained the chosen media for an important and characteristic Islamic architectural […]
Textiles & Rugs
Textiles & Rugs Textiles are one of the most diverse types of objects from the Islamic lands. They include some of the most valuable and refined luxury goods produced, highly prized by their owners at the time and among the most prestigious diplomatic gifts and rewards for service at court. Egypt, Iran, Turkey and India […]
Numismatics
Numismatics With more than 12,000 coins in the collection, The al-Sabah Collections numismatic holdings are extensive. Coins in the collection were minted in virtually every corner of the geography of the Islamic world. Equally notable, they were minted over a period of some 6,000 years – from the Bronze Age through the 19th century CE. […]
Metalwork
Metalwork The al-Sabah Collection contains almost two thousand items of metalwork ranging from elaborately worked vessels inlaid with precious metals to simply cast bronze finials in the form of animals. Islamic metalworkers, whether in Cairo or Herat, often fashioned relatively simple forms covered the surface in dazzling engraved or precious metal-inlaid patterns of arabesque interlace, […]
Art Of the Book
Art Of the Book The al-Sabah Collection is rich in manuscripts of the Qur’an. These range from a double page folio from one of the earliest known manuscripts, copied in the second century of Islam in a distinctive vertical script known as Hijazi, to a superbly decorated, large format manuscript signed by a famous calligrapher […]
Jewellery
Jewellery The al-Sabah Collection possess an unparalleled assemblage of pre-Islamic and Islamic jewellery and jewelled objects. These objects represent not only the almost eternal quest for beauty, but the aesthetic and technical skills of generations of artisans.In addition to what is certainly the largest and most representative collection of mediaeval Islamic jewellery in the world, […]
Ivory & Wood
Ivory & Wood Objects of ivory and wood comprise decorative architectural items such as beams and doors, and smaller items such as boxes, jewellery and gaming pieces. Relatively few examples have survived due to the perishability of the materials. That said, an ivory standing female figure circa 2450 – 2350 BCE from Syria or Mesopotamia […]
Glass
GLASS Glass objects in the collection date back almost 4,500 years and include objects from virtually every period since. The depth of the glass objects in The al-Sabah Collection allows both scholars and visitors to study, understand and appreciate the evolution of glass techniques from the Bronze Age to 19th century CE.A stellar example of […]
Ceramics
Ceramics Ceramics is one of the oldest industries, dating back to the Paleolithic era, more than 30,000 years ago. While The al-Sabah Collection is rich in ceramics, the primary focus of the collecting effort concentrated on covering the range of different techniques used by potters from the earliest Islamic period through to the 19th century. […]