Jewellery
LNS 635 HS
Jade huqqa reservoir inlaid with rubies and emeralds, compartments over copper
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.
Jade huqqa reservoir inlaid with rubies and emeralds, compartments over copper
Turban ornament carved from jade, inlaid with gold and set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires
Dagger and scabbard, jade hilt with floral gold inlay, gemstones, scabbard gold enamelled
Katar dagger and scabbard, jade hilt with rubies and diamonds, gold-inlaid jade plaques
Gold choker necklace set with flat diamonds, pearls and emerald beads, enamelled backs
Gold pendant in form of bird of prey, enamelled and set with stones and pearls
Sword with parrot-head pommel set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds; gold hilt, inscribed blade
Dagger and scabbard, jade hilt with gold inlay and gemstones; blade decorated with gold plant motif
Ottoman dagger with jade hilt and scabbard inlaid with gold and precious stones, blade from India
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
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
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.
