Sheikha Hussah Visits Paraguay

years ago, Layla
.N.B Eight
al-Musawi joined
In This Issue
l Sheikha
Hussah Visits
Paraguay
l The Spice World
l April in Iran
l The Annual Dinner
LNS
the Dar as a jack
of all trades in the
curator’s office. She helped
with exhibition installations,
translating both Persian
and Arabic inscriptions
162 M
on collection pieces and
coordinating legal contracts.
As her experience and
familiarity with the
collection grew, so did Layla’s
responsibilities. Ultimately,
she took over as Director of
Publications.
Sadly for us, Layla’s resigned
from the Dar to complete
her PhD and then move
into her chosen field of
environmental science.
Please join us in wishing
Layla good luck in her new
adventure.
Bareed ad-Dar, Newsletter of the Friends of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, Year 9, Issue 1. 2007
Sheikha Hussah Visits Paraguay
BY: BADER AL-BAIJAN
Paraguay, the land where
everything grows, was the
pleasant destination of three
Kuwaitis at the end of June.
The short, but delightful, visit from
the 28th June to 1st July, was
made at the gracious invitation
of the country’s First Lady, María
Gloria Penayo de Duarte in her
capacity as UN Ambassador for
Combating Hunger and Poverty
in the World to Sheikha Hussah
Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah,
Director-General of Dar al-Athar
al Islamiyyah.
The First Lady is also
concerned with children at risk
and the Office of the First Lady
and REPADEH have implemented
the Programme of Integrated
Care for Vulnerable Children and
Youths Living on the Streets of
Asunción. This has three phases:
retrieval, transitional homes and
family reintegration; thus providing
Continued on page 2
National Council for Culture, Arts & Letters
Friends of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
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P.O. Box 23996, Safat, 13100, KUWAIT
Bareed ad-Dar is the bi-monthly newsletter
of The Friends of Dar
al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI). Hadeeth
ad-Dar is a DAI scholarly journal containing
abridged versions of lectures given during
the Cultural Seasons.
Gulf Museum Consultancy Company WLL
(GMCC) is the commercial entity authorized
to exploit & promote the commercial
and other rights relating to The al-Sabah
Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah.
[email protected]
© 2006 GMCC, Kuwait
A pharmacist by training, the
First Lady is involved in a wide
number of projects ranging from
the architectural renovation of
the Neuropsychiatric Hospital to
fostering support for women’s
issues. She has championed
the programme of Integrated
Community Development
(PROGRESO), which has installed
T: +965 563 6528
This publication is sponsored by:
children and, to this end, has
worked towards fostering the
social integration of marginalized
and deprived populations.
She is striving to create equal
opportunities for these sectors
and by strengthening family and
society generally, hopes to combat
poverty and improve the living
conditions of the poor.
integrated care for homeless
children, aged 6 to 14, from
the street to final reintegration
into a family environment.
Throughout the visit Ms. Penayo
de Duarte introduced Sheikha
Hussah to various aspects of
Paraguayan cultural life and to
the humanitarian programmes
in which she is involved. A
well-organised, entertaining,
and informative programmes
organised by the Office of the
First Lady filled the three-day visit.
The Office of the First Lady was
established by the Paraguayan
F: +965 565 3006
Ms. Penayo de Duarte, like
Sheikha Hussah, is a mother
of six, and both ladies share
a long, steady, and intense
involvement in founding and
developing institutions in their
respective countries. Paraguay’s
First Lady is highly concerned
with helping the most vulnerable
sectors of society, particularly
Sheikha Hussah and the first lady of Paraguay, Maria Gloria Penayo de Duarte
visited with the children of the REPADEH Programme of Integrated Care for
Vulnerable Children and Youths Living on the Streets of Asuncion.
soybean processing machines in
the most deprived areas of the
country. PROGRESO’s initial goal
is the provision of food security for
local populations by encouraging
them to set up small bakeries
as a means of generating
supplementary income.
E: [email protected]
Accompanying Sheikha
Hussah was Sheikha Sheikha
Sabah al-Salim al-Sabah and
Mr. Bader Ahmed al-Baijan,
the President of the Steering
Committee of the Friends of DAI.
They were joined in Paraguay by
His Excellency, Mr. Ali al-Sammach,
Kuwait’s Ambassador to Argentina,
who also represents Kuwait in
Paraguay. His Excellency Mr. Faris
Eid, the Lebanese Ambassador,
also participated in many of the
activities.
Evening entertainment included a dinner hosted by Senor Nicanor Duarte Frutos,
President of the Republic, and his wife, the first lady, at Mburuvicha Roga, the
official residence of the President.
2 Bareed ad-Dar
Sheikha Hussah visits Paraguay
government, on 22 August 2003, in order to
create a legal and institutional framework
for the fulfillment of projects, such as those
mentioned above. The President of the
Republic, Senor Nicanor Duarte Frutos, and
the First Lady hosted a dinner in honour
of their guests on 28 June at Mburuvicha
Roga, the official residence of the President
of the Republic.Most of the Paraguayan
Cabinet and their spouses attended. It is
interesting to note that nine of the Ministers
in the government are ladies.
The following day, we visited “Area
Refugio”, a Community Integrated
Development Centre. The First Lady is
Chairperson of REPADEH (Paraguayan
Network for Human Development), and this
organization, together with the Office of
the First Lady, promotes the centre which
runs several successful projects. A visit to
the “Oga Mimbi” Home was next, followed
by a luncheon offered by the First Lady. A
National Crafts’ Exhibition also featured at
the luncheon.
On Friday, 30 June, the delegation flew
from the country’s capital, Asunción, to the
city of Hernandarias, where they visited
the impressive Itaipu Dam and the Guarani
Homeland Museum. This was followed by
a luncheon hosted by the Mayor of the City
of Ciudad del Este, Mr. Javier Zacarías Irún,
at the Residence of the Mayor. The mayor
presented Sheikha Hussah with the Keys
of the city as an honorary visitor to Ciudad
del Este. He also arranged for the Kuwaiti
guests of Paraguay to meet with prominent
citizens of Arab origin. The township of
Kuwait, founded in 1990, has a population
of about thirty thousand inhabitants and is
situated near the Itaipu Dam.
Paraguay is a country of warm, friendly
people, as evinced by the wonderful and
thoughtful hospitality shown to Sheikha
Hussah and her delegation. After a visit
to Iguazú Falls, the delegation returned to
Asunción, where a Reception of Honour
was held for Sheikha Hussah who was also
Guest of Honour at a Concert entitled, “La
The Kuwait delegation, led by Sheikha Hussah, visited several projects important to the first lady in
her role as UN Ambassador for Combating Hunger and Poverty. They also had the opportunity to visit
Iguazu Falls before returning to Asuncion, where Sheikha Hussah was the guest of honour at a concert
organized by The Paraguayan Network for Human Development and Nucleo Sociedad Anonima.
OSCA ca al Cine”, given by The Paraguayan
Network for Human Development and
Núcleo Sociedad Anónima. It was
subsequently performed at the Grand
Theatre in the Banco Central del Paraguay.
The intense beauty of Paraguay is
only exceeded by the dedication of the
LNS1660 J: Inscribed Royal
Spinel (Balas Ruby), cut
from spinel, drilled,
manually engraved with
a diamond stylus and
wheel-cut. Length 48
mm; width 36 mm;
thickness 18 mm; weight
249.3 carats.
Museum Shop
Timur Pen
)1449 ‫ تيموري (قبل‬،‫ألغ بيك‬
)‫م‬1617 /‫هـ‬1026( ‫ صفوي‬،1 ‫شاه عباس‬
)‫شاه جيهان مغولي (دون تاريخ‬
)‫م‬1621 /‫هـ‬1030( ‫ مغولي‬،‫جهانگير‬
)‫م‬1659-60/‫هـ‬1070( ‫ مغولي‬،‫عاملگير‬
)‫م‬1754-55/‫هـ‬1168( ‫ د ّراني‬،‫أحمد شاه‬
Timurid, Ulugh Beg (before ad 1449)
Safavid, Shah Abbas I (ah 1026/ad 1617)
Mughal, Jahangir (dated ah 1030/ad 1621)
Mughal, Shah Jahan (undated)
Mughal, Alamgir (ah 1070/ad 1659-60)
Durrani, Ahmad Shah (ah 1168/ad 1754-55)
“ On this day Aga Beg and Muhibb
Ali, the envoys of the ruler of Persia,
paid their respects and presented a
loving letter from that noble brother,
together with a black and white plume
(kalgi-i-ablag), valued by the jewellers
at Rs. 50,000.-. My brother also sent
me a ruby weighing 12 tanks, which
had belonged to the Jewel-chamber
of ULUGH BEG, the successor of M.
SHAH-RUKH. In the course of time,
and by the revolutions of fate, it has
come into the hands of the Safawi
family. On this ruby there were engraved
in the “Naskh” character the words:
“ULUGH BEG b. M.SHAH-RUKH
BAHADUR b. MIR TIMUR GURGAN.
My brother,Shah ‘Abbas, directed that
in another corner they should cut the
words: BANDA-I-SHAH-I-WILAYAT
// ‘ABBAS“The slave of the king of
holiness //‘Abbas” in the Nasta’liq
character. He had this ruby inserted in
President and the First Lady to the welfare
of its people and to the fostering of good
international relations, measures which have
been implemented since his inauguration.
Sheikha Hussah has extended a reciprocal
invitation to the First Lady of Paraguay to
visit Kuwait in February 2007.
a “Jigha” (turban ornament), and sent
to me as a souvenir. As the ruby bore
the names of my ancestors, I took it as
a blessing for myself, and bade Sa‘ida,
the superintendent of the goldsmith’s
department,engrave in another corner
the words JAHANGIR SHAH b.AKBAR
SHAH and the current date. After some
days, when the news of the conquest of
the Deccan arrived, I gave that ruby to
KHURRAM, and sent it to him”.
It’s by these words that Jahangir
Shah describes, in his memories
“Tuzuk-I-Jahangiri” that he received
in 1028 AH this gift from the ruler
of Persia, Shah Abbas. Our Timur
Pen by Recife was inspired by the
desire to share the importance of the
‘Balas Ruby’ (LNS 600 J) held in The
al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar alIslamiyyah, and demonstrates a subtle
combination of the historical past and
modern times.
It is composed of a ribbed body of
chromium plated brass with gold plated
accents. The grooved, synthetic rubies
at each end reflect the beauty of the
royal spinel and the engraved ring, with
inscriptions of historical leaders and
a great conqueror, combine to make
an exquisite writing tool. Each pen is a
numbered Limited Edition of 500, with
the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah initials
(DAI) of authenticity. There is a lifetime
guarantee from Recife.
3 Bareed ad-Dar
al-Duwish and Abd al-Aziz at the site
1
A section of the excavation at Kadima
An Umayyad coin,
struck at the era of the
Umayyad Caliph
Hisham in Abd al-Malik
Kazima
al-Buhur
In Gratitude
Sheikha Hussah, Director
General of DAI, received an
exclusive gift, a Qur’an tablet, from
Mrs. El-Tayib, the widow of the
late professor Abdulla El-Tayeb.
Professor El-Tayeb was a leading
philologist, educator and man
of letters. He was a prominent
pioneer in the field of Sudanese
folklore and made a remarkable
contribution to education; primarily
in the field of writing for children.
This Qur’an tablet was made
for the late professor when he
was named the first Professor of
the Faculty of Arabic and Islamic
Studies at Abdullahi Bayero
College, Kano, North Nigeria
in 1964. The tablet is made in
the fashion of those used by
young students to enable them
to memorise verses from the
Holy Qur’an. El-Tayeb belongs
to the generation which took
over from the British governors,
a generation whose role was the
Sudanisatin of the state. One of
the most challenging issues in this
respect was the Localisatim of the
curriculum, starting from the basic
level.
Professor Abdulla El-Tayeb and
his colleagues solved the problem
by looking back into the Sudanese
cultural heritage. They advocated
the re-discovery of the Sudanese
identity by returning to authentic
sources of Sudanese nationality,
Islam and Arabism. El-Tayeb’s
main objective was to design
and promote an Arabic language
curriculum for young students.
For fifty years, the late professor
collected and Sudanese folklore
and, using his expertise as a
teacher, successfully integrated the
folk tales into the Sudanese Arabic
language curriculum.
BY: SULTAN AL-DUWEESH
Kazima is one of the most significant
archeological and historical sites in Kuwait.
It has been cited in several Arabic historical
and literary sources. Yaqut al-Hamawi, in
his book Mu‘jam al-Buldan, points out that
“Kazma al-Buhur lies on the seashore on
the road between Basra and Bahrain, laying
at two stages from Basra, with surface water
sources”. The area is still very rich in water
sources and the water level of several freshwater wells rises above the surface. Many
Arab tribes settled in Kazima including the
Tanukh, Ayad, Bakr ibn Wa’il, Shayban and
Tamim.
Kazima was known as a port and a
station for pilgrims and traders, as reported
by Jasus ibn Ya‘fur and Khalid ibn Malik.
They both confirmed that “Kazima is
swarming with pilgrims and traders”. The
battle of Dhat al-Salasil took place at
Kazima in the year 12 A.H. This victory was
the prelude to Islamic conquests in Persia
and Mesopotamia.
Kazima appeared on world maps as
far back as 1652 AD in a map drawn by the
Frenchman Nicholas Santos and continued
to be shown until the end of the 17th
Century AD. It also appears in numerous
maps prepared by the Otinz brothers and
was depicted on a map prepared by the
German publisher G.B. Human, which was
offered for sale in the year 1737 AD.
Currently, in the light of some recent
archeological findings, both ruins and
artefacts, Kazima has stepped into a
new dimension. A team of archeological
researchers from the National Council
for Culture Arts and Letters (NCCAL)
– Antiquities and Museums’ Department,
has uncovered some indications of life
dating back to the mid-sixth century AD at
a site locally known as al-Kharafashi in the
archeological sector of Kazima, about 14 km
north east of al-Jahra city (Latitude 24° 29
and longitude 47° 45).
General Description of the Area
The Kazima settlement lies on top of
a series of archeological mounds near the
seashore. The al-Kharafashi ruins stretch
between the Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad
al-Jabir al-Sabah’s National Park and the
al-Khuwaysat area.The settlement was
founded on a series of hills two meters
above neighbouring land levels. It lies on the
edge of a small slope covered by a newlyformed layer of soft sand. It is separated
from the sea by an area of marshland,
2
covered with nabak plants and stretches
of shifting sand. It is believed that the
settlement was originally founded on the
seashore but that due to several geological
factors, the sea-water receded.
On the eastern side of the settlement,
there is a huge cavity covered by a layer
of sand and stony deposits. On the southeastern side, lie masses of rock. At this point
the water channel gets narrower and leads
to the main well.
Description of the Residential Units in
the Site
For the purpose of the archeological
survey and study, the settlement was divided
into seven divisions, designated from A to G.
They consist of rectangular residential units
built of limestone and sea-rocks.
The work uncovered door-openings
that, in most of the chambers, face eastward
(or seaward). Also, a layer of mud was
discovered near the eastern wall of chamber
no. 1 in the main mound. Surface finds
pottery is abundant at the Kharfshi site
which covers an area of more than 2400
m2 and finds are concentrated mainly in the
centre of mound B, situated to the north of
the main mound. In mound E, 118 pottery
shards have been collected, most of which
are of glazed pottery in shades of blue and
green. Also collected were 19 artefacts
made of soapstone, as well as fragments of
jewellery and cosmetic tools. Glass shards
of different kinds were also spread all over
the surface of the site.
Islamic Coins
Dozens of Islamic tombs were
uncovered to the west of the site. In addition,
a hoard of metal coins was discovered,
the oldest of which is an Islamic coin that
dates back to the Umayyad era, during
the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham
ibn Abd al-Malik (105-150 AH). It is made
of brass, with a diameter of 2.1 cms and
weighs 1.85 grams. The centre-front of the
coin is inscribed with the words, “There is
no God but Allah, He has no partner”, and
the edge is uninscribed. The obverse is
inscribed in the centre with “Mohammed is
the Messenger of Allah”; and the edge with
“In the name of God, this fils was struck
at Wasit in the year 123”. This coin was
instrumental in dating the period of early
settlement, hence dating the site of Kazima.
The team hopes that these finds will add to
current research and play a accretive role
in establishing that Kazima functioned as a
commercial port in the early Islamic period.
3
1. from right Sam Fogg, Sheila Blair, Eleanore
Sims and Layla al-Musawi, on a boat trip concludiing the symposium
2. Sara Kuhen, Abdulaziz al-Duweesh, Nabil
Saidi and Debora Freema
3. Claus-Peter Haase
The Supreme
of Islam
Art
The Museum für Islamische Kunst,
Berlin, invited Sam Fogg, a leading art
dealer, to present an outstanding selection
of Islamic calligraphy: “Ink and Gold:
Masterpieces of Islamic Calligraphy
Exhibition”, from 14 July to 31 August 2006.
In its press release, the museum announced
that the exhibition is composed of over 25
superb examples of Islamic calligraphy and
illumination, covering a period of some 900
years and representing the calligraphic
traditions of an area stretching from Morocco
to Central Asia.
On 14 July a symposium on Islamic
calligraphy was held to celebrate the
opening of this exhibition. It comprised
lectures by international Islamic calligraphy
experts Jonathan Bloom, Sheila Blair,
François Déroche, Marcus Fraser, ClausPeter Haase and Robert Hillenbrand. Topics
covered Qur’ans and Qur’anic illumination
of the Abbasid period, and the Baysunghur
Qur’an and Mughal calligraphy albums in
the Berlin Collection.
The lectures covered the history and
development of the different Arabic scripts.
Although an Arabic script was in use prior
to the rise of Islam, it was not until after the
establishment of the Islamic empire that a
system of vocalisation and diacritics was
established. The angular Arabic scripts
that were dominate from the second half
of the 8th, century AD through the 10th are
frequently named ‘Kufic’.
The exhibition includes outstanding
examples of calligraphy covering all these
major Islamic centres. The earliest piece
on display is a monumental Qur’an leaf on
vellum. Other early masterpieces include a
page from the famous Blue Qur’an as well
as a leaf from a Qur’an manuscript written
entirely in gold. Though the patrons of these
manuscripts are unknown, the quality and
expensive materials indicate patronage of
the highest, possibly imperial, level.
Bareed ad-Dar 4
DAI In Press
The Curator
Wallpaper magazine, in its September
2006 issue,featured Sheikh Majed al-Sabah
(Villa Moda), Sheikha Hussah Al-Sabah (Dar
al-Athar al-Islamiyyah), Emad al-Samhan
(Grass Exhibition), Rola Dashti (Women’s
rights movement) and Maha al-Ghunaim
(Global Investment House). Under the
subtitle of ‘The Curator’,
The Spice
Road
The al-Tawabil Road in Egypt, a
long term excavation and survey project
undertaken by the Archaeological Mission
of the Middle Eastern Culture Center in
Japan, is part of archaeological research into
cultural properties excavated from ruins in
northern Egypt and in the Sinai Peninsula. In
operation for more than 20 years, the work
is shedding a new light on the development
of social and commercial networks in
early Islam as well as its relationship with
Christian, Coptic and Byzantine cultures.
This massive campaign has been
conducted by a joint Japanese/Egyptian
team directed by Dr. Mutsuo Kawatoko,
Director of the Archaeological Mission of the
Middle Eastern Culture Center in Japan. Dr
Kawatko gave a lecture during the previous
DAI cultural season (see page 9). Over the
last few years, the team has excavated a
large sector of al-Fustat (an early Islamic
settlement on the outskirts of modern Cairo);
mapped the early Christian monastery
at Wadi al-Tur (sixth–twelfth century AD);
recorded early Islamic rock inscriptions
on Mount Naqus (eighth twentieth century
AD); mapped the port and mosque at Raya
(originating in the sixth–twelfth or thirteenth
century AD) and conducted an in-depth
investigation of the fourteenth–twentiethcentury sequence at al-Kilani (al-Tur). This
year, the Egyptian team was led by Mr.
Mahmud Hasan, Supervisor of Antiquities,
with conservators Mr. Samih Aljundi, Mr.
Muhammad Kuraytim and Mr. Ayman
Farmawi.
A Kuwaiti excavation and research
team from DAI and the Kuwait National
Wallpaper wrote: ‘Had it not been for
a rather rude comment by Andy Warhol at
a party in Kuwait in the 1970’s, Shaikha
Hussah al-Sabah and her husband Sheikh
Nasser might now be the owners of an
impressive collection of contemporary
art. Instead, they preside over something
quite different and, in many ways, more
precious; one of the most comprehensive
private collections of Islamic art to be found
anywhere in the world.
Museum, also
joined the Japanese
working team. The
DAI team consisted of
Mr. Abdulrahman al-Ajmi,
Director of Public Relations; Mr.Jamal
Bkahait, Researcher and Journalist and Ms.
Dalal al-Fadhli, Researcher. The KNM team
included Mr.Sultan Al Duwiesh, Supervisor of
Antiquities and Mr. Khalid Salim, Researcher.
The Kuwaiti team was instructed in the
most recent advances in the many different
branches of conservation by means of
a series of lectures while the theoretical
background was implemented practically, in
the field.
The object that started the collection, a
14th century blown-glass decanter of either
Egyptian or Syrian origin, was acquired
in 1975. The following eight years saw it
joined by everything from gold earrings and
carpets, to manuscripts, miniatures, scientific
instruments and household items--20,000
pieces in all, from all over the Islamic world.
By 1983, the collection was becoming
unwieldy, so al-Sabah offered it on
permanent loan to the state, which in turn
offered them space in the newly finished
National Museum, a spacious Brave New
World-like compound designed by French
architect Michel Ecochard.
The Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (AlSabah collection of Islamic Art) was born.
Right from the start, the DAI collection
turned heads. But it also turned eyes green
- during the Iraqi invasion in 1991 it was
systematically looted.
“Just a few weeks before the invasion,
we received a visit from a team of Iraqi
archaeologists and curators,” recalls the
Sheikha. “They already knew exactly what
we had.”
After removing what they could, the
Iraqi army torched the museum, destroying
much of what was left, including a pair of
14th-century carved wooden doors from
Fez. Sheikha Hussah, who speaks of her
objects with a tenderness and passion
normally reserved for children, hasn’t
forgotten that act.
Today, the gutted complex still stands
empty. In the years after liberation, the DAI
was absorbed in the task of retrieving its
collection. It wasn’t easy, but with the help
of UNESCO, the DAI was eventually able
to track almost everything down - the most
precious items found in vaults under the
Iraqi National Bank in Baghdad.
Now, with the exception of the 50-odd
items still missing - among them three
exquisitely carved Mughal emeralds – the
collection is being restored and packed in
crates. “We are a museum without walls”,
says Sheikha Hussah. “But we lend a lot,
host visiting researchers and have two
travelling exhibitions, so the collection
never dormant.”
The delay in rebuilding the museum
has been due to lack of political will and
uncertainty about the future. “It may be
hard for outsiders to understand,but
Saddam Hussein was a constant threat
to us through all these years explains
the Sheikha. We never knew what might
happen.”
The plan is that the National Museum
will reopen in 2008. When it does, the
al-Sabah collection, now more than
35,000 objects in all, will occupy half of
the complex. I suggest the new building
should be called the DAI/National Museum
in recognition of her contribution – but the
gracious Sheikha simply smiles content
with all she has achieved.
Bareed ad-Dar 7
al-Khayam
at Dar Dawood
On 20th May, Dar Dawood publishing
house hosted a lecture by Dr Nicola Faris,
Professor of Mathematics at Science
College, Lebanese University. This was
followed by an open discussion on Omar alKhayyam and his achievements in the fields
of mathematics and poetry.
Giving a brief overview of the
development of algebra up to the time
of Omar al-Khayyam, Dr Faris said: “It is
generally agreed that algebra came into
being as a science, or a mathematical
science, with the work of al-Khawarizmi,
set down in Baghdad during the era of
al-Ma’mun (813-833 AD). This is not to
deny however, that a certain number of
algebraic formulae already existed, as did
some knowledge of the rules of algebraic
calculations.
The main elements of al-Khawarizmi’s
work were known some 25 centuries
earlier in Babylonian times. Others occur
in “Osoul”, a text by Iqlidis, and in the work
of Diophintis. In the 7th century, the Indian
mathematician and astrononomer, Brahma
Gupta, solved some 2nd degree formulae by
means of arithmetic.
The assumption that this science was
only born with the work of al-Khawarizmi
suggests that no earlier scientific work
existed in which formulae were treated as
mathematical entities. Algebraic calculations
were in fact practised, to a limited extent, but
did not then employ accurate terminology.
Dr Faris went on to compare the
methods followed by al-Khayyam and
Descartes in solving 3rd degree formulae,
pointing out that each can lead accurately
to a geometrical solution by means of the
intersections of conic sections. Al-Khayyam
resorted to the geometrical technique after
he and his predecessors failed to solve
these formula through the use of roots, a
method he hoped would become possible at
a later stage
From Prof. Roshdi Rashed’s book
(referring to Pickman) we understand that
in the year 1619, long before the publication
of his “La Géométrie”, Descartes had
already begun to solve four out of thirteen
cubic formulae which can occur as a result
of matching numbers, roots, squares and
cubes.He used the same classification of
formulae as that adopted by al-Khayyam.
However, his results never reached the
same degree of generalization as those of
Al-Khayyam.
Eventually published in 1637 AD, “La
Géométrie” contained the final completed
formulation of Descartes’ proofs relating to
3rd degree formulae. Such proofs depend on
equal division fixed for all kinds of formulae,
and on a circle that changes according to
the kind of formula. The choice of these
curves by Descartes depends on the transfer
to 4th degree formulae. The two methods
followed by Descartes and al-Khayyam are
based on different techniques, though their
solutions are reached in almost the same
way. This project has now reached maturity and
acquired an accurate form. Its roots however still
exist in the works of al-Khayyam’s predecessors
such as al-Mahani, Abu’l Jud, al-Khazin, and
Ibn al-Haytham. Since the birth of algebra as
a science in the 9th century, the project has
been taking shape and developing through
the use of the vast geometrical legacy
contained in Iqlidis’ “Osoul” and Apolonis’
“Cones”. Today the geometrical algebra
project retains its vitality, benefiting from
the development of all branches of maths
while, at the same time, contributing to their
advancement.
Top Left: Prof. Faris
and Dr. al-Mahdi in
Dar Dawood
Top right: Persepolis
Centre: Left the
Group in front of the
Friday Mosque
Bottom: Block
printing
April in Iran
BY: HUDA AL-ZAHEM
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARTIN BUXTORF
Our first glimpse of Iran’s harsh,
sometimes snow-topped mountains could
not possibly have given us any idea of the
wonderful time we were about to have. On
arriving in Isfahan, we savoured the fresh
air that was heavy with the scent of orange
blossom, stocks,roses and pansies as we
walked through the hotel garden to our
rooms. The garden was a colourful bouquet
which set the scene for our stay. Colour
was an important and dominating factor
all through our visit, whether it was the
turquoise, blue and yellow ceramic work of
Isfahan or the pinks and mauves of Shiraz.
Trees of many various shades of green,
grass or fields of grain, cut glass decoration
in palaces and restaurants, or the exquisite
silk, wool or cotton carpets; all in such a
maelstrom of colours. A veritable feast for
the soul. Everywhere people were enjoying
picnics.
The whole atmosphere was one of
jollity, something that stayed with us all
through our holiday as we were a ‘jolly
group’, a good mixture of east and west.
Some young people enquired where we
came from and even tagged along with us.
Imam Square, which became my favourite
place, is the largest in the world, after
Tienanman, and was the focus of our visits
to the bazaar. Once used for playing polo,
the square is now neatly laid out with lawns
and a pond, while horse-drawn carriages
are available for leisurely rides. At the end
of Imam Square is one of the most stunning
buildings in Iran; the Imam Mosque with its
two turquoise minarets flanking the huge
gateway. It was built over a period of 26
years and was eventually completed in 1638
AD. In Shah Abbas’s impatience to see it
finished, he attempted to speed the work by
adopting a new method of glazed tile-work,
known as ‘haft rangi’ (of seven colours). As
a result, some sections are decorated in the
new style and some in the old. Interestingly,
these ornate tiles take on a different hue
according to the light conditions. I will always
associate Isfahan with the colour turquoise.
We also visited the Vank Church, one
of fourteen Armenian churches in Isfahan.
The one we visited was very ornate and only
used for Easter and Christmas celebrations.
Constructed between 1655 and 1664 AD
during the reign of Shah Abbas II, by funds
contributed by the Armenian population
of Julfa, the exterior of the Church recalls
the brick architecture of the Jami‘ Mosque
built by the Saljuqs on the other side of the
river. The adjacent Vank museum was built
in 1905. Its halls are filled with artefacts
related to the relatively long history of the
Armenians in Julfa.
An interesting sight was the Minar-i
Jonban (the moving minaret), the tombstone
of Abu Abdollah, which bears the date 1316
AD. Two minarets, built in Mongol style,one
on either side of the mausoleum’s ivan
and form its main attraction, since any
movement produced in one of the minarets
is automatically reflected not only in the
other, but also in the whole ivan.
The ivan has been ornamented with
four-pointed and polygonal azure tiles. One
of the stunning historical buildings in the
province, it is located six kilometers west of
the city of Isfahan, on the way to Najaf Abad
in a village called Karlatan. The architectural
style belongs to the 14th century (Mongol
era) complemented with dark blue tiles in the
form of stars decorating two arches and the
sides of the portico.
A visit to the handicraft makers was a
must, so we went to see some ladies who
were weaving two identical, delicate, pale
coloured carpets in fine wool (taken from
the neck of a lamb) and silk. They were
working in a private house and we stood and
watched as they moved their fingers deftly
between the threads.
We visited a little, old, wizened man who
was busy stamping out his material with a
dark blue colour. One colour is used per
day and his shop was full of tablecloths,
bedspreads and cushion covers etc. He
kept on printing and, while we watched
him, his relations came to serve us. Our
journey to Shiraz was by bus, which gave
us a good opportunity to see a countryside
that was, in many places, just like Europe.
We passed tractors busily ploughing the
fields as well as stretches of newly sprouting
grain. Sometimes we could see snowcapped
mountains in the distance while we enjoyed
the balmy spring weather. We were able to
take a walk in the countryside as we went
to have a look at the tomb of Darius (ca.
486 BC) and the surrounding ruins. Soon
we were in Shiraz and on seeing the Eram
garden with its beautiful country house,
were immediately aware of the differences
between Shiraz and Isfahan.
Pinks and mauves were the dominant
colours in Shiraz whose designs included
birds, people and animals as well as flowers
and geometric patterns.
Our full day trip to Persepolis was not
to be forgotten; the feeling of its greatness
could not be denied as we stood on a
height, surveying the countryside around us.
The masters of the magnificent carvings are
long dead but their magnificent work lives
on in spite of wind, weather and the danger
of earthquakes. Persepolis made me feel
very small indeed. Our last day was spent
exploring the Wakil Bazaar. The square from
which all the little, stuffed alleyways went off
was cute and reminded me of Montmartre.
There were some really good bargains there
in the way of small antique objects. I don’t
know quite what I had expected on leaving
for Iran but I was pleasantly surprised at
how much I enjoyed my trip to Isfahan
and Shiraz. The company was great, the
weather perfect and I saw many beautiful
and interesting places – not only that, I came
home with some money still in my pocket!
8 Bareed ad-Dar
Cultural Season XI
in the Gulf, the French trying to
regain Egypt, the English wellestablished in India and Actively
involved in rounding up allies in
the Gulf. The Ottomans applied
themselves more than ever to
maintaining firm control over the
region in order to compensate for
the loss of Ottoman territories on
its western border. Thus the lecture
focuses on Ottoman documents
covering this critical period, the
second half of the 19th to the
beginning of the 20th centuries, in
which the Ottoman-English conflict
resulted in the formation of the
modern Gulf States.
Every year, DAI organizes
a series of public lectures
and seminars given by
internationally renowned
scholars, as well as art
courses, archaeological field
trips, musical concerts and
audio-visual programs to
enhance public awareness
and appreciation of art
history. These activities are
held at Maidan Cultural
Centre on Monday evenings
at 7:00 p.m.
English
3 April 06
Architecture and Poetry
In her lecture on ‘Nasrid
Architecture and Court Poetry’,
Sophie Makariou, Curator of the
Mediaeval Islamic, Musée du
Louvre, concentrated on the main
axis of the Lions’ Palace, namely
the two great rooms and balcony
and the inscription which adorns
the Lions’ Fountain. The Alhambra
has been highly praised not only
as a masterpiece of architecture
but as a poetry book made of
stone; for more than thirty poems
are written on the walls around the
Alhambra and Generalife Palaces.
This strong association between
Nasrid architecture and Court
Poetry has always been underlined
but little has been done to read the
buildings according
to the poems on the walls.
Sophie Makariou’s lecture
focused on this topic and she
underlined the link between both
medias; architecture and poetry.A
close analysis of some part of the
palaces reveals that the poems
were not written independently
but were created especially for a
locus.
Since the 16th Century and
the work of Alonso del Castillo, the
walls of the Nasrid palaces of the
Alhambra have been the object of
particular interest because they
present the rare, if not unique,
state of being a poetic diwan, or
in fact a compendium of many
diwans. Intertwined therein are the
verses of three 14th century AD
poet-vizirs of the Banu Ahmar; ibn
al-Jayyab (1274-1349 AD), Lisan
al-Din ibn al-Khatib (1313-1371
AD), the greatest Nasrid scholar,
and ibn Zamrak (1333-1391 AD).
They were all of them devoted
to the Nasrid Court, being vizirs
and poets. Thirty two poems are
preserved on the walls of the
Alhambra. Seven of these
poems are short religious pieces,
one of which commemorates
the Mawlid, a celebration the
birth of the Prophet, a practice
already known from the time of
Muhammad V’s reign. In none of
the poems is there any mention of
the palace in which they are found.
However in 11 instances the
buildings themselves “speak” in
the first person in the inscriptions
they bear, a known occurence in
Islamic inscriptions.
In one of the towers ‘torre de la
Cautiva’, the inscriptions transform
Dr. Makariou
Prof. Bobzin
the square tower into four open
pages of poetry, evoking, for an
Arab reader, the Mu‘allaqat, or
hanging poems of al-Jahiliyya.
The poem appears around the
main Kufic inscriptions as if they
were marginal annotations. If we
read it according to the ordinary
hierarchy of a page of manuscript,
this arrangement of calligraphy
could be interpreted as a form of
rhetorical subterfuge as the main
text is hidden at first glance. More
generally, in the inscriptions on
the Alhambra there is a similarity
of scale between the writing and
the vegetal ornamentation of the
walls; palms are down- sized to
coordinate with calligraphy. This
blend of vegetal decor and text is
used as a visual metaphor.
It describes a relationship
between Arabic sentence and
word structure that is based on an
additive and organic growth similar
to that of spreading foliage.
This written and linguistic trait
can itself be seen as emblematic
of Islamic culture generally. This
harmonious, parallel presentation
of writing and ornamentation, with
its musical quality and fleeting
refinement, was rarely pursued
to the heights it attained in the
western reaches of the 14th
century AD .
English
10 April 06
Early Printed Qur’ans in
Western Europe
Prof. Dr. H. Bobzin, Professor
of Islamic Studies and Semitic
Philology, University of ErlangenNuremberg, examined the history
of some of the early printed
Qur’ans in Western Europe.
Such interest grew as early as
the 12th century AD when a first
‘translation’ was made at the
instigation of the Abbott of Cluny,
Peter the Venerable, while visiting
Spain (about 1141-1143 AD). This
first Latin version of the Qur’an
was printed about 400 years later
in the city of Basle (Switzerland)
in 1543; its publication aroused
a heated debate as to whether
the distribution of the ideas of
the religious enemy should be
allowed in a Christian city. In a
letter to the council of Basle, the
Prof. Kurşun
great reformer Martin Luther pled
for publication in order to provide
those responsible with sound
arguments for religious debates.
Some years earlier a Venetian
printer, Alessandro Paganini, had
printed a Qur’an with movable
Arabic letters. Only one copy of
this printing survived and until
today it is not quite clear why
the edition disappeared. In the
beginning of the 17th c.
It was rumoured in Protestant
circles that this edition of the
Qur’an was burned on the
Pope’s orders. Nevertheless, the
most probable argument for its
disappearance seems to be that
the edition, originally printed for
export to Muslim countries, was
printed with many errors, rendering
the Holy text so faulty that it was
destroyed.
At the end of the 17th c.
a learned reverend from the
German city of Hamburg, Abraham
Hinckelmann, undertook a new
attempt at printing the Arabic
text of the Qur’an. It appeared in
Hamburg in 1694. Hinckelmann
possessed a remarkable collection
of Qur’anic manuscripts (now
preserved in the State Library in
Hamburg) and produced a nicely
printed text.
He added an exhaustive
introduction in which he offers
an exhaustive account of the
value of concerning oneself with
Arabic literature, and above all
emphasizes the importance to
Christian theologians of the value
of being able to read the Qur’an in
the original language, i.e. in Arabic,
given the Qur’an’s status as a
fundamental work. This edition
was in circulation for more than
a century in Protestant university
circles and served as an important
text in the study of Arabic.
Four years after Hinckelmann’s
text, an Italian father,Ludovico
Marracci, published a voluminous
bilingual edition of the Qur’an
in Padova (Italy). It was printed
in Arabic and Latin and
contained both a commentary
and a Christian refutation. The
importance of the Marraccis
edition lies in the fact that he
provided, in the framework of
his commentary, quite extensive
textual explanations by a great
variety of Arabic authors,
both in Arabic and in the Latin
translation, thus giving the reader
the opportunity to acquaint
himself with authentic Muslim
interpretations of the Qur’an.
One of the most remarkable
achievements in the history of
Qur’an printings is the edition that
was printed at St. Petersburg in
1787 on the orders of the Russian
Empress, Catherine II. The Arabic
types were provided by a local
Muslim scholar, Mullah Osman
Ismail. Some copies of this edition,
which was reprinted several
times, were supplied with variant
readings. Later on the printing
office was transferred from St .
Petersburg to Kazan.
Of the greatest importance for
European Qur’an philology was
the Qur’an edited by the Saxon
private scholar Gustav Fluegel
(1802-70). It was printed in 1834
in Leipzig. Thanks to this edition,
European scholarship for the first
time had available a convenient
– and, not least – affordable text
that was, by and large, authentic.
This edition was widely used until
the Azhar-Qur’an was printed in
Cairo in 1924.
Documents from much earlier
than the 19th century attest to the
fact that Kuwait was an important
port. The Ottomans were well
aware of the strategic importance
of Kuwait and realised that
whichever power controlled the
area would pose a serious threat
to Basra and Iraq thereafter. Hence
the Sultan ordered the Governor of
Basra (Wali) to closely follow the
situation in the region.
During this time Britain was
trying to establish a foothold in the
Gulf. Shortly after 1847 AD, when
the British Consul in Bushire,
Iran, increased his interactions
with the rulers of Kuwait, the
Sultan was notified immediately.
At this point, the Ottomans
decided to designate Kuwait
as a sub-governorate (Qaim
Maqamiyya) while the British
began signing a series of pacts
with some of the Sheikhdoms
of the Gulf. Peace negotiations
at the end of the Crimean War
began in 1856. Under the ensuing
Treaty of Paris in 1856, between
Britain, France, the Ottomans,
Sardinia and Russia, all the Great
Powers pledged to respect the
independence and territorial
integrity of the Ottoman Empire.
Although the British continued
to approach the ruler of Kuwait,
Sheikh Abdulla ibn Sabah
remained loyal to the Ottomans
regardless of the hardships.
Zekeriya Kursun, Professor of
Political History at the University
of Marmara-Istanbul, presented a
lecture titled: ‘The Importance of
Ottoman Documents in the History
of the Gulf Countries: Focusing on
Ottoman-Kuwaiti Relations’.
The friendly Ottoman-Kuwaiti
relationship was not challenged
throughout most of Sheikh
Mubarak’s reign, but was strained
when Kuwait signed a pact with
the British. Some of the most
intriguing documents are those
pertaining to the Anglo-Ottoman
Convention of 1913 over several
issues. However it was the issue
over the status of Kuwait that
came to be the only long-lived
result, as its outcome was formal
independence for Kuwait and the
demarcation of its international
borders for the first time. According
to the agreement, Sheikh Mubarak
al-Sabah, who was Qaimmaqam
(provincial sub-governor) under
the Ottomans, was recognised as
ruler of the autonomous city of
Kuwait and its hinterlands.
During the 19th century, the
Ottoman Empire and the Islamic
world faced critical circumstances
due to the progressive decline
of Ottoman supremacy and
increasing interference from
European powers: the Portuguese
Sheikh Mubarak’s last
service to the Sultan was to
convince Abdulaziz al-Sa‘ud,
who conquered al-Hasa, to sign
a treaty with the Ottomans and
become the Ottoman Wali of
al-Hasa.
Arabic
24 April 06
History of the Gulf in
Ottoman Documents
Bareed ad-Dar 9
English
14 May 06
Islamic pottery and metalwork, as
well as numerous articles.
History of East-West
Maritime Relations
The history and culture of
the world have been formed and
developed by exchanges between
people, goods and culture. In
particular, exchanges between the
worlds of the Indian Ocean/South
China Sea and the Mediterranean
caused numerous new cultural
waves, in the process of which the
different ecosystems and products
were mutually complemented. The
Silk Road is represented when the
matter of exchanges between the
East and the West is discussed,
but the East-West maritime route,
that is to say, the “Sea Silk Road”
or the “Ceramic Road” is extremely
important.
When we think of the “land
network” and the “sea network” in
these routes of East-West relations
we should not forget that the
Red Sea route and the Gulf route
were rivals throughout history. In
the early Islamic period the Gulf
route predominated. There were
many port cities, such as Siraf and
Basra, on the Gulf route. These
port cities were connected with
Baghdad and Samarra’, capitals in
the Abbasid dynasty, and Shiraz,
a large city in Iran. However, as
a result of the unsettled political
situation over Baghdad and
the frequently occurring natural
disasters of great earthquakes and
storms in the Gulf area after the
ninth century, the Red Sea route
predominated after the latter half
of the tenth century.
In this lecture, I will discuss
the history of cultural exchanges
through the Red Sea based on
the results of excavations at
al-Fustat (the south part of Cairo)
which played an important role in
connecting the worlds of the Red
Sea and the Indian Ocean with
the Mediterranean world, including
the port city of Riya and other
port city sites along the Red Sea.
Here, I deal with one aspect of the
actual conditions of the cultural
exchanges from the viewpoint of
relations between the Chineseware brought to the Middle
Eastern area, such as Tang white
porcelain, Yue celadon, Long-quan
celadon, and blue and white in
the Song and Ming dynasties and
Islamic glazed pottery. Chineseware first brought to the Middle
Eastern area was white porcelain
of the Tang dynasty (618-907) and
Changsha yellow glazed porcelain.
Particularly, Tang white porcelain
has been unearthed in large
amounts in various sites of the
Gulf, such as Siraf. This was at a
time when the Siraf merchants had
the initiative in East-West maritime
relations, as white porcelain is a
type yet to be found in sites on the
Red Sea route.
It is considered that the
introduction of tang white porcelain
influenced the development of
luster-glazed pottery. The lusterstain and luster-paint techniques
were developed for glass
decoration in the latter half of the
eighth century and then were
Dr. Kawatoko
Professor Fehérvári
summarised the history and
findings of Bahnasa to the
attending audience. The classical
Oxyrhynchus, where British
excavations took place between
1897 and 1906, were continued
by Italian archaeologists until
the outbreak of World War I.
Thousands of papyri were
discovered in the course of their
excavations.
Prof. Faris
The town lies some 200km
south of Cairo and some 20km
west of the Nile. In pre-Islamic
times, as far back as the 3rd
millennium BC, it was an important
city where beautiful pottery, woodand stone- carvings, jewellery and
metalwork were made.
applied to Islamic glazed pottery in
the ninth century. In this case the
white background was effective.
Yue celadon started to be
found in various port city sites on
the Red Sea route in the latter
half of the tenth century. This
type has been excavated in the
Badi site in Sudan, the al-Jar site
in Saudi Arabia, the Riya site in
South Sinai, and in great quantity
in al-Fustat which was a major
commercial center in East-West
maritime relations. The extremely
fine incision used on Yue celadon
was adopted for Islamic glazed
pottery around the twelfth century.
In the thirteenth century
Long-quan celadon came to be
imported in very large quantities.
Its color and shape was adopted
in Mamluk glazed pottery and
became firmly established for
use in daily household vessels in
medieval Egyptian life. I think that
this presents one aspect of how
cultural exchanges were realized.
Arabic
21 May 06
Arab Science Heritage
Arab Science Heritage In
his lecture entitled, “On some
Characteristics of Arab Science:
Heritage and Lessons “ , Dr. Nicola
Fares, Professor of Mathematics at
the Lebanese University, pointed
out that his presentation owed
much to the recent findings and
publications of Rushdi Rashid, as
well as works by George Saliba,
A. Anbuba, A. B. Yushkevich and
Christian Huzil. The History of
Science is a rather new discipline
which, drawing on the historical
methods of both intellectual and
social history, was formulated
in the 18th century as an
independent field of knowledge.
The discipline’s quick growth
is attributed to its significance
in fields such as education,
history, philosophy, sociology and
even science itself; since some
branches of science are strongly
related to their history as in the
case of Astronomy and Medicine.
Earlier historical studies
attribute the development of
modern science to western culture
and neglect altogether the role
Prof. Féhervári
of eastern wisdom and science.
Until the 1960s, the image of Arab
Science was completely distorted
and far from reality. This was due
to the lack of accurate information
on Arab science as well as gaps
in sources of this information and
some deficiencies in the linguistic
and scientific capacities of earlier
studies. Recent years, however,
have witnessed a growing interest
in Arab sciences and a changing
appreciation of the role historically
played by Arab and Muslim
cultures.
The real value of Arab science
lies in the translation of Greek
texts into Arabic. Many of the
original Greek texts were lost
over the years and it is their
Arabic translations that have
survived. This fostered the belief
that ingenuity in Arab science
(if any) was just an extension of
Greek science, whether in theory
or in its method of application,
and that whatever was presented
by Arab science was always
limited to existing manuscripts
and had no influence on the
progress of science throughout
the ages. These ideas, which
turned into beliefs, not only
among western intellectuals but
also among their eastern Arab
counterparts, became a general
belief which contributed to the
creation of a feeling of inferiority
in front of Western superiority.
This had considerable social and
philosophical negative effect.
The lecturer concluded
his remarks on this point by
saying that all changes in the
methodology of Arab science, in
form of content, do not suggest the
blind copying of the traditionas of
Greek science but rather the birth
of a new tradition of which Greek
science was one of the sources.
These unbiased, systematic
studies reveal several features
of Arab Sciences, such as its
comprehensive framework, multisources, systematic translation,
assimilation of different scientific
traditions, experimentation
as means of obtaining proof
in applied sciences and the
introduction of new scientific
traditions and universality. The
pervading social atmosphere
encouraged the growth of Arab
science. It spread throughout civil
society and was not bound to
Dar al-Khilafa and the courts of
princes. It was practised in Bayt
al-Hikma, observatories, hospitals,
schools and in mosques. The
social study of Arab Science is
still in its infancy and it is hoped
that this historical movement will,
in future, fully explain the role of
Islamic society.
Engligh
29 May 06
‘The Final Report of the
Bahnasa Excavations “
by Géza Fehérvári .
DAI concluded its 10th cultural
season by hosting a special book
signing of ‘The Final Report of the
Bahnasa Excavations’ which has
been just published. The former
Hungarian Ambassador, Géza
Fehérvári, Professor Emeritus
of the School of Oriental and
African Studies (SOAS), London,
and Curator of the Tareq Rajab
Museum, Kuwait, compiled the
final report.
Among his many
achievements have been
excavations in Egypt (at
Oxyrhynchus/Bahnasa, 1985–
1987), leading the Dar al-Athar
al-Islamiyyah team. He has several
published books to his credit on
While the pre-Islamic areas
were well researched, the Islamic
areas and monuments were
completely neglected. To correct
this situation and to uncover the
Islamic remains and to publish the
Islamic monuments of the town,
the Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah
in Kuwait, with considerable
financial support of KFAS (Kuwait
Foundation for the Advancement
of Sciences), carried out extensive
excavations over four seasons at
the site between 1985 and 1987.
The first area to be
investigated was the site of the
Fatimid Mosque of Hasan ibn Salih
(site “A”). This mosque originally
was a church, but was converted
into a mosque during the 4th
AH/AD10th century. The date of
conversion is recorded on one of
the columns in the sanctuary. The
arches, capitals and the minaret
date from the Fatimid period. The
next site to be investigated was
the remains of a Mamluk-period
Mosque, the Mosque of Zayn alAbidan (site “B”). The central area
and the lower levels were cleared
and excavations brought to light
numerous Mamluk and Fatimid
period pottery, coins and glass.
The glass fragments included
early Islamic lustre-painted glass.
A further important area for our
investigation was at the edges of
the cemetery (site “D”) from where
large number of paper fragments,
textiles and woodcarvings were
found.
In two other important areas
where we concentrated our
excavations, Mamluk and Fatimid
period pottery, coins and glass
and, more importantly a glazed
Fatimid jar with two hundred
Fatimid gold coins inside, were
discovered. Behind the palace
a 10th century street was also
revealed.
Site “F” turned out to be one
of the most important “industrial”
areas, where two glass making
furnaces and one pottery kiln were
excavated. The finds included
early Islamic glass and pottery,
among them 200 unglazed pottery
lamps and coins.
A second pottery quarter was
found at site “K”, where the traces
of 36 pottery kilns were located,
two of which were excavated.
10 Bareed ad-Dar
On the cover
Hunting scences, the theme of our 2007
calendar, are one of the principal themes of
Islamic decorative arts.
The detail presented here is from the
bronze casket shown on the front page (LNS
162 M), from the Iranian world during the 7th
century AH/13th century AD, images from
this period often included anthromorphic,
zoomorphic and geometric designs.
The Casket is brass inlaid with silver; of
splayed rectangular form on four hoof feet,
the coffered lid originally hinged; engraved
with eleven roundels against a ground of
interconnecting key motifs interspersed with
circles decorated with rosettes and crosses,
four of the scallop-edged medallions
containing horsemen hunting with hawks
and hounds, a fifth with an enthroned ruler
flanked by attendants, the remaining six
with interlacing foliage and birds; the lid
with a roundel depicting two running horses
enclosed by a key meander border flanked
by two bird medallions, all on a ground of
interconnecting <Z> motifs, with handle;
both casket and lid each pierced four times
for the attachment of hinges at rear, now
bottomless.
Treasury of the World
Annual
Dinner
Over 200 Friends of DAI and their guests;
Ambassadors, Members of sponsoring
companies, as well as DAI staff, gathered at
the Safir International Hotel, Kuwait for an
excellent evening of hearty conversation,
delicious cuisine and delightful entertainment,
provided by Jaipur Atrauli Gharana, who
played enchanting Indian Music.
The musicans were trained from an early
age by famous traditional Indian musicians,
and have received several honours.
The group consists of the vocalist Shruti
Sadolikar and Mr. Sudhir Nayak; on Tanpura
Mr. Shrinidhi Katkar, Ms. Avanti Sudhir
Walvekar, Mr. Mangesh Mulye on regular
Tabla.
The artists selected a variety of
traditional Indian music for the evening,
among which were Khyaal, the most popular
genre of North Indian Classical Music;
Tarana, a composition where words are used
more for their phonetic beauty than for their
literary meaning; Natya Sangeet, a rich
tradition of over 100 years represented by a
song from a Marathi Musical Play; Thumri,
a romantic composition accompanied by a
dance belonging to the light classical music
genre; and Ghazal, a highly romantic yet
philosophical composition belonging to the
light Classical genre.
As usual Mr. Bader Al-Baijan, Chairman
of the Friends of the Dar Steering Committee
and member of the National Council for
Culture Arts and Letters, reviewed the main
events of the year’s cultural season and
shed light on some of the events planned
for next season. DAI is very grateful to Safir
International for their generous support of
the annual dinner. Many thanks to all those
who attended this event. Without the support
of our Friends and their guests, we could not
offer such a rich season.
Benefactors
w w w. t a m d e e n r e a l e s t a t e . c o m
Burgan Bank
Mariam Naser Sabah al-Sabah
Shafiqa Ali al-Mutawa
Donors
Musée du Louvre-Paris
Official Sponsors
Kuwait Shell Limited
Nada al-Mutawa
Parsons Brinckerhoff
Int. Inc
Anwar Y. al-Qatami
Intisar S. A. al-Sabah
Dr. Abdulaziz al-Sultan
KMEFIC
Arab Center for
Commercial & Real Estate
Patrons
Diraar Y. al-Ghanim
Nadia M. al-Bahar
Hind Hamad Ahmad al-Bahar
Paula al-Sabah
Ali Faisal Homoud al-Khaled
Sulaiman Hamad al-Kazi
Adel Musaed al-Jerallah al-Kharafi
Sponsors
Dr. Ali Ashour al-Jaffar
Munira al-Khubaizi
Mohamed Mahmoud Rasheed
Nasser Duaij al-Sabah
Mona al-Khonaini
Mohammad Abdulla al-Arada
Tareq Bader al-Mailem
Hilal al-Sayer
Yasser Ashour al-Jaffar
Eric Kuhne
Enass al-Marzouk
Saud al-Arfaj