al-Sabah
than that of 'Islamic Art & Patronage". From its inception as an
exhibition meant to share Islamic art with the world , it come to
represent a symbol of peace and struggle involving the survival of a
culture fight to regain its cultural identity in the face of man's
inhumanity to man .
It all started with the dream of two people , Sheikh Nasser Sabah
Ahmed al-Sabah and his wife , Sheikha Hussah Salim al-aabah, who not
only wanted to bring together the islamic heritage of their nation but
also planned to share it with the world . Between 1975 and 1983, they
amassed a comprehensive and impressive collection of more than
twenty thousand pieces of islamic art .
Blessed with a strong belief in the adage "art belongs to the world" the
couple decided to offer thier collection on permanent loan to the
kuwait government under the title Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah that
translates charmingly as The house of Islamic Antiquities . Thus,on
Kuwait's National Day , February 25,1993,Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
opened its doors as part of the Kuwait's National Museum .
When Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah opened its first permanent exhibition
at the Kuwait National Museum it displayed twelve hundred of its
finest of Islamic art . Exports were moved to declare that a new star
had appeared in the constellation of Islamic art collections and critics
judged that the scale , scope and quality of the Dar al-Athar
al-Islamiyyah Collection was comparable to 'and in some respects even
surpassed such famous older collections' as those in the Victoria and
Albert Museum and British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Hermitage in st.
Petersburg and the David Collection in Copenhagen .
Such was the quality and diversity of the Collection that Kuwait's Dar
al-Athar al-Islamiyyah instantly gained worldwide apopereciation and
recognition in international museum circles . At the same time, it
broadened its scope by introducing an intensive programme, in both
English and Arabic, of lectures, conferences, tours and classes in the
history and techniques of Islamic art .
Now an institute of renown, the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah conformed
to the established custom of lending its masterpieces and displaying
those of other museums . Reciprocating loaned exhibition of a hundred
and twenty items from the state Hermitage Museum, Leningrad , the
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah started to prepare an exhibition of a hundred
and seven pieces of carefully chosen Islamic art that was due to travel
to the Soviet Union in July, 1990.
The name chosen for this exhibition was " Islamic Art & Patronage
treasures from Kuwait'.
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Information The Director Shaykha Hussah al-Sabah and other members
of al-Sabah family started this museum in 1983 with 1200-piece
permanent exhibition on Kuwait's national day. Many experts declared
that a new star had appeared in the constellation of Islamic art
collection. Since this exhibit is put together by individuals devoted to
the full sweep of Islamic art, this exhibit is comparable to, and in some
respect even surpassed, famous collections as those in Victoria and
Albert and the British museums, and the Louvre.
City Kuwait City
Web Site N/A
Mailing Address Kuwait National Museum
Arabian Gulf Street
Kuwait City, Kuwait
Phone 965 432 020
Working Hours The museum is open daily, except Thursdays and
Fridays, from 09:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Collections The finest pieces of Islamic arts around the Arabic and
Islamic world.
