i have been wanting to visit this museum since i first set foot on this sandy soil. it didn't happen before but i knew this time, i had to make it happen. I.M. Pei designed the beautiful building which is a work of art in itself. The building sits on the corniche with a waterfront view on one side and a city view on the other.
Quite stunning isn't it? There is a beautiful water feature leading up to it along with this bridge to the entrance. I love the strong edges and black features of this building. And the interior is just as stunning.
This is the view from the second floor with the spectacular stair case and light feature. The other side is the cafe and water feature where you can enjoy a spot of tea.
We started up on the 4th floor at a temporary exhibit called Steel and Gold, a historic swords exhibit. A unique exhibit that shows the history of blades in this region including India. I like that they share not only the blades but some prints of fashion that went along with the pieces. The intricate details on both the blades and sheaths is breath-taking.
The way the museum is laid out is quite unique. On the third floor are the earliest pieces arranged by time. I could spend hours in the ceramic room looking at the intricate details of the hand painted pottery. Throughout time, we all seem to be drawn to the same basic shapes. Did you spot the herringbone like patterned in the above pottery?
This jar is a feast for my eyes. So much texture and details to digest all in one big beautiful jar which dates back to the 13th century.
This is one of my favorite pieces i spotted this day. The color and design just fascinate me. it's a simple piece but utterly beautiful.
I love that the museum is filled with everyday art including glass, ceramic, and metal bottles. Look at the details on the perfume bottle displayed above.
Very few portraits exist in this museum. There are small gouache paintings and lots of book pages but these two are rather large portraits hanging on the wall. Obviously done by the same artist and hung side by side in the museum.
it's filled with unusual objects and unique pieces. Metals, jewels, jewel encrusted pieces, and more. They have a figure room, a calligraphy section, a patterned section, and science section as well as rooms laid out by time periods.
One of the cool parts of the museum is a small section dedicated to the art of science filled with compasses of days gone by, celestial maps, quadrants, and astrolabes. Once again that recognition of every day items, tools of time gone by, displayed as art.
Like these beautiful pieces, jar lids, displayed beautifully. The display itself is so very cool but a little too high for me to peek into each piece. I confess i want to hold and examine each lid carefully. So gorgeous.
It was an enjoyable day at the museum. I was impressed that Andrew & Anthony were pretty patient with me being so absorbed into many of the pieces. I know i would love to go back and take a little more time. It is an inspiring collection and i would like to take advantage of the education center. Admission into the museum is free which also makes it easy to go back.
