A TRIBUTE TO SHEIKH SAOUD AL THANI

2 August 2020 – 10 April 2021

Tickets must be purchased online in advance of your visit.

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is paying tribute to HE Sheikh Saoud bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani who was so influential in the constitution of collections for Qatar Museums and the state of Qatar in general. Sheikh Saoud’s legacy as a collector is of crucial importance to Qatar Museums as he laid the foundations of the major collections within the institution. Parts of that collection are on display at MIA, but others remain in storage. This exhibition sheds light on objects that have never been displayed in Qatar before.

Sheikh Saoud was passionate about ‘cabinets of curiosities’ and the combination between natural history and antiquities in particular. The exhibition celebrates his collecting vision through an eclectic display including natural history, antiquities, jewellery, photography and modern and contemporary artworks that recalls the ‘cabinets of curiosities’ tradition.

Despite the fact that the Gulf region has a longstanding history of collecting practices, Sheikh Saoud can be considered one of the last royals who amassed thousands of very diverse objects for his country with a real passion and eye for arts and culture. To his vast collections, he added a conservation facility to preserve and breed endangered species at his Al-Wabra farm, which gained world-wide admiration.