 |
Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417 
|
||
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
 |
 |
|
|
Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 February 1999 Issue No. 417
|
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
|
|
|
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Special Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The whisper of Islamic ceramics
By Rania Khallaf
Prince Amr Ibrahim's palace in Zamalek has been converted into a museum, displaying 316 ceramic items from several Islamic countries and eras. The museum was opened by Mrs Suzanne Mubarak on Tuesday.
Mrs Suzanne Mubarak at the museum
Culture Minister Farouk Hosni described the museum's debut as a feat to be added to Egypt's list of cultural achievements.
The cost of renovation, begun in 1988, amounted to LE7 million, Ahmed Nawwar, head of the department of museums at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said. Built in 1924, the two-floor palace covers 850 square metres.
The acquisitions had been scattered in a number of other museums before they were collected in this new palace-turned-museum. Following the 1952 Revolution, the palace came under the control of municipal authorities. In 1971, the Ministry of Culture began using it as a gallery for the exhibition of Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil's collection of paintings after his house in Giza was annexed to the residence of the late President Anwar El-Sadat.
The museum, which is surrounded by a 2,800 square metre garden, "is the first of its kind in the Middle East," Hosni said. "It is one of the major centres of plastic arts in Egypt because it adds a new dimension to the history of Arab and Islamic art."
The museum's decoration and furniture designs, including engraved wooden mashrabiyas, are purely Islamic. "Choosing the palace to be the first specialised Islamic ceramics museum was undoubtedly inspired by the palace's impressive Islamic architecture as well as its location in a quiet district in the heart of the city," Nawwar said. "The museum houses a rare collection of ceramics acquired from Islamic countries and representing various techniques of decoration used throughout the Islamic world, from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east."
The collection includes 116 pieces from Egypt, representing the Umayyad, Fatimid, Ayyubid and Mameluke eras. There are 200 other pieces representing Turkish, Syrian, Iranian, Iraqi and Moroccan styles.
Museum for Islamic ceramics in Zamalek
The collection includes jars, mugs, jugs, bowls, plates, vases and cups, the oldest dating back to the second century Hijra and the newest dating to 12th century Hijra, Nawwar said.
The cellar includes four exhibiting halls, one of which displays 99 original paintings by renowned 19th century artists.
In addition to the ceramics exhibition, the museum includes halls for communication networks, a cinema, an open air theatre for recitals and a video tape library.
During her inaugural visit, Mrs Mubarak said a meeting should be held to emphasise the importance of improving conditions at national museums and to call for international financial support for implementing what she called a "museum plan of action" for the 21st century. Mrs Mubarak also expressed her admiration for, and appreciation of, the enormous efforts that were made to arrange the acquisitions attractively.
Mrs Mubarak has been nominated as the honourary chairwoman of the Museums' Friends Society, whose board will meet later this month.
