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, the collection houses an incomparable representation of the jewellery and jewelled objects of the Mughal and Deccan territories of India of the 16th to 18th centuries. The latter has been extensively shown worldwide in the Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals exhibition, its first venue being the British Museum in London in 2001.

The collection’s holdings of jewellery of the pre-Islamic periods from the Near East and Central and South Asia are extremely extensive and distinguished. The variety of pieces from the early Bronze Age to Late Antiquity is notable and includes gold necklaces, rings and bracelets, a large royal carnelian intaglio and several Bronze Age cylinder seals.

The collection is also rich in items fashioned of decorative hardstones, principally jade and rock crystal. Some of the rock crystal objects date from the early mediaeval period and consist principally of small bottles, beads and gaming pieces. These rare objects date from the 9th to the 11th centuries.