The Doha Museum of Islamic Art is a museum located in the capital of Qatar, Doha. It was designed by architect Ioh Ming Pei. The design of the museum was influenced by ancient Islamic architecture. The construction of the museum had a cost of more than 350 million dollars. It has a total area of 45,000 m2 and is located on an artificial island in the port of Doha at the southern end of Doha Bay.
The objects exhibited in the museum were obtained from Europe and Asia, they are works of the 7th century AD. to the 19th century, and the collection represents the diversity that exists in Islamic art. Exhibits range from books, manuscripts, pottery, metals, glass, ivory, textiles, wood, gemstones, and coins made from silver, copper, and bronze, some of which date back to before Islam, specifically the Sassanid era. , and the most recent dates go back to the Safavid era, through the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. The museum also includes a research center as well as an Islamic art library.
The collection exhibited in the museum was collected over 15 years and documented a 14-century period of Islamic art history. The Qatari authorities were so keen on preserving the art pieces that they placed them in an air-conditioned warehouse in one of the military barracks, pending the completion of the museum's construction. Added to this is the great effort that was put into its search in many museums and cultural centers around the world, especially since some of them were never shown in advance, while others were shown for limited periods.
The museum is located on the Doha Corniche, on an artificial island, with an area of 33.5 thousand square meters, and is a five-story building. The museum was inspired by its design of the "Wudu Fountain" which was established during the 13th century at the Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, dating from the 9th century AD. C.
The designer says that when he received the invitation from the Emir of Qatar to design the museum, he initially refused, as he was unfamiliar with Islamic arts, before traveling between Cordoba and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and various Islamic cultural centers. around. world, and when the Chinese engineer saw the dome of the ablution fountain in the Ahmed Mosque, Ben Tulun, in Cairo, he said at the time that he had found the spirit of the museum that inspired his design.
The objects exhibited in the museum were obtained from Europe and Asia, they are works of the 7th century AD. to the 19th century, and the collection represents the diversity that exists in Islamic art. Exhibits range from books, manuscripts, pottery, metals, glass, ivory, textiles, wood, gemstones, and coins made from silver, copper, and bronze, some of which date back to before Islam, specifically the Sassanid era. , and the most recent dates go back to the Safavid era, through the Umayyad and Abbasid eras. The museum also includes a research center as well as an Islamic art library.
The collection exhibited in the museum was collected over 15 years and documented a 14-century period of Islamic art history. The Qatari authorities were so keen on preserving the art pieces that they placed them in an air-conditioned warehouse in one of the military barracks, pending the completion of the museum's construction. Added to this is the great effort that was put into its search in many museums and cultural centers around the world, especially since some of them were never shown in advance, while others were shown for limited periods.
The museum is located on the Doha Corniche, on an artificial island, with an area of 33.5 thousand square meters, and is a five-story building. The museum was inspired by its design of the "Wudu Fountain" which was established during the 13th century at the Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque in Cairo, dating from the 9th century AD. C.
The designer says that when he received the invitation from the Emir of Qatar to design the museum, he initially refused, as he was unfamiliar with Islamic arts, before traveling between Cordoba and the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and various Islamic cultural centers. around. world, and when the Chinese engineer saw the dome of the ablution fountain in the Ahmed Mosque, Ben Tulun, in Cairo, he said at the time that he had found the spirit of the museum that inspired his design.
