Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (1948-2020)
Nasser Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah (1948-2020) was the collector. His affinity for beauty and fascination with his cultural heritage drove him to search for, acquire and preserve objects that captured moments in history and traditions of the Islamic world. His natural curiousity led him to study the objects; their history, the techniques and technologies of their creation, and the influences that impacted their development and the influences that the objects had on the arts that followed.
In addition to being a collector and preservationist, Sheikh Nasser was a dedicated civil servant, reformer, and entrepreneur. His commitment to Kuwait and all the communities therein led to his involvement in cultural activities, humanitarian projects and development enterprises with the potential to benefit the residents of Kuwait – from the immigrant working to give his/her family a better life to Kuwaitis eager for opportunities to build a successful country. His work on the Silk Road Project and Kuwait Vision 2035, are just two of the efforts that benefitted from his active participation, as a civil servant and a private citizen, in the advancement of Kuwait.
Hussa Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah
Hussa Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah is the director general of Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI), a cultural organization, under the auspicies of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters, which is inspired by the private collection of Islamic art created in 1975 and fostered by her husband Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah and herself. Today, the al-Sabah Collection includes more than 30,000 objects of art created in countries from Spain to China, from the 4th millennium BCE- l9th century CE.
While the art remains the cornerstone of the DAI, under the guardianship of Sheikha Hussa, the organisation has grown into a dynamic entity promoting arts, culture and education. She is clearly driven by the ability of the art to open people’s minds as well as their eyes to the differences in cultures, allowing each to more fully appreciate the other.
In addition, Sheikha Hussa feels a very real sense of responsibility to reach communities in both the Islamic world and beyond. This she accomplishes through participation in archaeological excavations, international conferences, publications, lectures and a vibrant cultural programme at home in Kuwait..
With a special interest in the preservation of indigenous architecture, she is working to ensure that traditional buildings are protected and restored to the original design. At present, Sheikha Hussa is actively involved in projects in Damascus, Aleppo, Muharraq, and Cairo.
Finaly, she serves as an Honorary Trustee on the Boards of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, and The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (TX). In addition, she served as member of the ALIPH Foundation Board( non-governmental organization for the protection of heritage in areas of military conflicts), Geneva, and on the Corporation Visiting Committee for the Department of Architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, where she is now a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council, School of Architecture and Planning. Recently, she was named a Board Trustee for Egypt’s newly opened National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, Fustat.
To see Sheikha Hussa’s complete CV
Director General, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah 1983 – present
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI) is the institution created by the state of Kuwait, under the auspicies of the National Council for Culture, Arts, and Letters, to manage The al-Sabah Collection of art from the Islamic world. In addition to work directly related to the collection, DAI is also actively involved in several community and professional education and cultural awareness programmes, which includes an annual lecture series, the development and maintenance of a reference library and the production and distribution of a wide array of publications.
The annual lecture series, in its 26th season, features lectures by prominent scholars on various topics related to Islamic history, including thought, art, archaeology and architecture, and is considered to be a focal point for historians and other academics. The DAI sponsors archaeological excavations, including one in Upper Egypt, Bahnassa, and another at Tur Sinai, both of which have yielded finds that date to the Fatimid period. In addition, DAI also offers conservation training. Implemented in conjunction with the UNDP and a corps of professional conservators, the programme provides appropriately educated young Kuwaitis with the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to preserve and protect valuable pieces of their heritage. Furthermore, the DAI opened the Amricani Cultural Centre in 2nd November 2011. The centre serves as a training museum and includes a 200-seat theatre, two exhibitions, a conservation lab, an education wing, and temporary exhibition space. DAI representatives have taken on a leadership role in the restoration/ renovation of the Kuwait National Museum, located within the Qibla Cultural District.
Co-owner, The al-Sabah Collection 1975 – present
With her late husband, late Sheikh Nasser Sabah Ahmed al-Sabah, former Minister of Defence and elder son of the 15th Amir of Kuwait (Sheikh Sabah Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah), Sheikha Hussa Sabah Salem al-Sabah, daughter of the 12th Amir of Kuwait (Sheikh Salem Sabah al-Mubarak al-Sabah), formed The al-Sabah Collection which is considered by many scholars to be among the most important collections of art from the Islamic world. The collection includes more than 30,000 objects of art of different media from the Bronze Age to the 19th century, covering all historical periods and geographical regions of the Islamic world. On loan to the State of Kuwait since 1983, under the auspices of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, objects from the collection have been and, after the rehabilitation is complete, will be again on display at the Kuwait National Museum.
Awards
• Decorated by the order of His Majesty King Philippe of Belgium, the COMMANDEUR DE L’ORDRE DE LA COURONNE, as a recognition of cultural contribution. (February 2021)
• Middle East Institute’s “Issam M. Fares Award for Excellence” The Middle East Institute Annual Awards Banquet Washington DC, USA (2017)
• Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IESCO) in honour of Kuwait Capital of Islamic Culture (2016)
• CHEVALIER DE L’ORDRE DES ARTS ET DES LETTRES, LA MINISTRE DE LA CULTURE ET DE LA COMMUNICATION, République Française (2013)
• Pioneer in Archaeological Awareness, 9th General Meeting, Arab Archaeology Union, Cairo, Egypt (11 November 2006)
Memberships
• Member, Dean’s Advisory Council, School of Architecture and Planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA (2021 – present)
• Member, Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilizations, Egypt. (2021 – present)
• Chair, Qibla Cultural District Board, Kuwait (2019 – ongoing)
• Member, Museum of Fine Art, Houston Board of Trustees, Houston TX, USA (2019 – ongoing)
• Member, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Board of Trustees, New York, NY USA (2011 – ongoing)
• Member, Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) Board of Trustees, Kuwait (2005 – ongoing)
• Kuwait Representative, ALIPH (International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas) Foundation Board, Switzerland (2017 – 2021)
• Presidential Nominee, Corporation Visiting Committee, Department of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT), Boston, MA USA (2016 – 2020)
• Member, The Kuwait University Council, Kuwait (2010 – 2019)
• Former Co-chair, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Advisory Board, Kuwait (2014 – 2015)
• Former Member, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science, Kuwait (2011 – 2014)
• Member of Board of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Kuwait (2005 – 2007)
• Head of Kuwait Information Centre in Damascus, Syria during the occupation of Kuwait (1990-91)
• Former Member of Advisory Cultural Committee of I’Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris, France (1990)
• Former Member of Steering Committee of Islamic Research Centre for History, Arts and Culture in Istanbul, Turkey (1986 – 1992)
Guest speaker and/or participant in international conferences
• Panel: “Face to Face-Ministers and Private Sector CEOs: How Tourism and Leisure Lead to a Beautiful Life”, UN World Travel Organisation, Global Tourism Economy Forum, Macau, China (14 October 2019)
• Panel: “Why Do We Gain When Investing in Culture”, Investing in Culture: Business and Social Impact Conference, (Thinkers and Doers) Bahrain Manama, Bahrain (19 January 2016)
• Speaker: Be astounded; Be astounding: Journeys in the museum world, American Alliance of Museums Annual Conference, Washington, DC, USA (18 May 2016)
• Speaker: Art: A Kuwaiti Experience Connecting Cultures, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA (5 November 2016)
• Participant: Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Conference Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean, Barcelona, Spain (22 – 23 July 2015)
• Participant: All Civilization n Service of Humanity, Manama, Bahrain (5-7 May 2014)
• Speaker: ‘Collecting Memories: A Collection of Art as an Imprint of a Civilazation”, TEDx Rome, Rome, Italy (19 April 2013)
• Speaker: “The role of Cultural Diplomacy in Building Bridges Between Cultures”, AWARE / IOM Conference at UNDP, Kuwait (3-4 December 2012)
• Participant: Science Po, Kuwait Program, Paris, France (2011)
• Participant: “Making Things Speak” objects, commodities, & Societies in Historical perspective at Martin-Gropius -Bau, Berlin- Germany (2011)
• Speaker: “From Private to Public: The Metamorphosis of the al-Sabah Collection”, Bard Graduate Center, New York, USA (2008)
• Speaker: “From Private to Public: The Metamorphosis of the al-Sabah Collection”, Historians of Islamic Art Association, Pennsylvania, USA (2008)
• Participant: “Korean-Arab Relations”, International Conference to Launch the Korea-Arab Society, Seoul, Korea (2008)
• Participant: “Religions and the Alliance of Civilizations: Advancing Shared Securtity”, World Conference of Religions for Peace, Madrid, Spain (2008)
• Speaker: “The Importance of Cultural Diversity”, UNESCO Conference, Kuwait (2007)
• Speaker: “Paths and Pitfalls of Interreligious Understanding”, Salzburg Trilogue (2007)
• Participant: 10th World Federation of Friends of Museums Conference, “New Century New Museums: New Friends”,Sydney, Australia (13 – 17 September 1999)
• Speaker: “Formation of an Islamic Art Collection: the Kuwaiti Experience”, Sotheby’s Geneva, Switzerland (1998)
• “Speaker: Metamorphosis of Private Collection into Public Institution” at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA (1998)
• Speaker: “Islamic Art in War and Peace”, for the 3rd AMAR-UNESCO conference, European and Islamic Dialogue: a Permanent Space or Dialogue (March 5-7 1997) at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France (1997)
• Speaker: “Islamic Art in War and Peace”, Kuwait Cultural Centre, London, UK (1996)
• Speaker: “Artistic Genesis in Wood and Stone: Objects from the Kuwait Museum of Islamic Art”, American University of Beirut, Lebanon (1996)
• Speaker: “The Enigma of the Three Emeralds”, British Embassy, Kuwait (1994)
• Speaker: “The Story of a Door”, at Accademia Delle Arti Del Disegno, Florence, Italy (1994)
• Speaker: “My Favorite Object”, British Council, Kuwait (1993)
Support of archaeological excavations
• Japanese-Kuwaiti joint excavation in the Raya/al-Tur area, Sinai Peninsula in cooperation with the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (2002 – 2008)
• Excavation of Islamic site in Bahnasa, Upper Egypt, in cooperation with the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS) (1985 – 1987)
Conservation and preservation of traditional architecture, including
• Kuwait National Museum (KNM) at Qibla Cultural District
• Ferney Voltaire historic home (2000)
• Egypt: Khudives period house located behind al-Azhar Mosque, old Cairo.
• Aleppo: Jumblatt House, a 17th Century palace (preparatory studies began 1997). Restoration of an adjacent house to the palace.(1998)
• Damascus: Old stone and mud houses located in the area adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque (1996)
• Kuwait: American Mission Hospital buildings located near the Parliament building. This project was begun in 1995 and is being managed in cooperation with the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters. Opened in 2011.
• Bahrain: Muharraq-mud house with traditional Bahraini architectural elements (1988)
Return of the Dagger
While most of the Collection was recovered, some of its most precious items remained missing and were thought to have been lost forever.
Fortunately this was not to be quite the case. When a jewel-studded Mughal dagger from the Collection made a sudden appearance in the October, 1996 sale catalogue of Sotheby’s, a prestigious London auction house, the staff of the Dar al Athar al-lslamiyyah spotted it and requested that Sotheby’s withdraw the dagger from the sale. After examining the documentation presented, this was done immediately.
The recovery of the Mughal dagger launched a fiery debate as to whether the missing pieces from the Al-Sabah Collection were, in fact, not still intact in Baghdad, and being used for Iraqi gain. From the beginning of the occupation of Kuwait, auction houses, collectors and museums throughout the world had been on the watch for such objects.
It continues to remain a source of concern to Sheikh Nasser and Sheikha Hussah that the regime in Baghdad might allow these stolen art objects to fall into the hands of the many unscrupulous dealers who feed the art collections of private individuals.
Subscribe to news about Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah and The al-Sabah Collection, Exhibitions, Courses and Events
