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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Plain Talk
By Mursi Saad El-Din
The 21st of February was celebrated as the International Mother Languages Day. When I received the UNESCO's report about this I was surprised, since I thought that it goes without saying that each country and people have their mother language and that there is no reason to underline such a fact.
Chester Beatty was a collector. He was one of the world's greatest collectors of oriental and other manuscripts. What is Chester Beatty's personal history? He was an Irishman born in New York in 1875. After graduation from Columbia University, he went to Denver, Colorado and thanks to working in gold mines, within 10 years became a millionaire. He moved to London in 1920 and started his own company which was successful in Africa.
In 1950 at the age of 75 he moved to Ireland which he described as "the best country in the world in which to retire". In July 1954 Queen Elizabeth knighted him. Beatty had become an ardent collector and his interest in oriental art was fuelled by a trip to Japan and China. He believed in buying only the finest items, commenting that "It is no good keeping things that are not first class."
When he moved to Dublin in 1950 he took with him 35 tonnes of art work which he left for the Irish people at his death in January 1968. The collection formed what came to be known as the Chester Beatty Library which was initially housed away from the centre of Dublin. His collection contained decorated manuscripts from Japan, China, Persia, Egypt and India. Its pièces de resistance are various Coptic, Islamic and Qur'anic pieces, including a number of the Fayoum portraits.
On 8 February 2000 the library was moved to the clock tower of Dublin Castle where there are spacious galleries. Among the previous manuscripts in the library, there are 1259 pieces of Omar Khayyam. There are also small sculptures, textiles, furniture, Chinese snuff boxes and clay tablets from Babylon dating from 2700 BC.
The moving of the library to its new location has created special interest in its contents. The Irish Times published a long article giving a description of the new location of the library. The new building cost £5.5 million to construct and a further £6 million to fit out. It contains a wealth of new facilities which include a conservation laboratory, photographic studio, lecture hall, restaurant and bookshop. There is also a reference library containing 7000 books which will undoubtedly grow rapidly.
There are also two galleries. The lower gallery is dedicated to the art of the book and printed material, which is supplemented by a variety of audio-visual displays showing such areas as the history of books and paper production, binding, calligraphy and pigments.
The upper gallery focuses on the world's greatest religions, particularly Christianity and Islam. The clock tower was built in 1756 but remodelled and extended in the early 19th century. Work on the restoration began in 1994. The restored building is linked to the new, enclosed exhibition area by glazed concourses. The architect responsible for the restoration is quoted in the Irish Times as saying, "We decided that the most important thing was to create a public space. People will be able to use the garden to wander, to have a look in the bookshop and have a coffee."
There is a "sacred gallery" which displays Islamic and Christian artifacts which has deep purple, green and red backgrounds. As the building's architect says, "A visit to the museum should be as pleasant as possible, regardless of people's level of interest in the exhibitions."
According to he Irish Times, in addition to the permanent exhibitions, a number of temporary shows of renowned exhibits will be held at the galleries each year. Well, may be in the near future Egyptian exhibits will find their way to the clock tower of Dublin Castle.
