Al Thani Collection

The Al Thani Collection is a collection of art from ancient civilizations around the world, located in the Hôtel de la Marine, on the Place de la Concorde, in Paris. It is owned by Sheik Hamad bin Abdullah Khalifa Al Thani, first cousin of the Emir of Qatar.[1] Portions of the collection previously toured to different museums around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. Beginning in late 2021 it occupied a wing of the newly restored Hotel de la Marine in Paris, under agreement with the Center of National Monuments of the French Ministry of Culture. Under the agreement, it will remain for twenty years.[2]

The collection is located in a section of the Hotel de la Marine which formerly displayed tapestries. It displays at one time one hundred-twenty works, out of a total of more than five thousand works in the collection. It presents objects from ancient civilizations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and the Middle East, related by theme. The exposition was designed by Tsuyashi Tane. The first of the four galleries is called an "imaginary museum", with a mixture of different cultures. The second gallery has eleven showcase, by theme. The third is reserved for temporary exhibits. The fourth, 18 meters long,is offers a tour of objects from different ancient treasuries.[2]

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  Entrance to the Al Thani Collection
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  Quartzite bust of a Princess of the Amarna Period, Egyptian New Empire, XVIII Dynasty (1351-1334 BC),
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  13th century Bust of Emperor Hadrian, armor with pearls from 16th c., Al Thani Collection
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  a gold and turquoise plate from the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet (600-800 AD) the Al Thani Collection
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  head of a Royal figure, Egypt New Empire (1473-1292 BCE)

One notable object is a bust carved of chalcedony of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, made in the 13th century for the Holy Roman Emperor, and then moved two centuries later to Venice, where it was set upon shoulders in armor made of gilded enamel, precious stones and pearls. Another notable work is a quartzite bust of a Princess of the Amarna Period, Egyptian New Empire, XVIII Dynasty (1351-1334 BC),[3]

Another notable bust of a royal figure is carved of red jasper, and depicts either Queen Hatshepsut or King Thutmosis III, from the 18th dynasty, a high point in Egyptian civilisation. It is believed to originally have had crown of blue faience.[4]

The collection also contains a gold pendant from 3500 BC, considered the oldest existing example of worked gold; a Mughal decorative bird made of gold, lacquer, rubies and emeralds; A bear-shaped gilded bronze carpet weight from the Han Dynasty in China (202-220 AD; as well as sabers, textiles, and illuminated texts of the Koran.[5]

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  One gallery of the Al Thani Collection
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  Achaemenid Empire plaque from Central Asia, of gold, lapis lazuli, coraline, turquoise, agate, and glass (400-300 BC)
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  Ottoman Tunic with excerpts of Koran worn under armor, with two sabers (16th century)
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  Jade wine cup of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (1607-1608)

Another object on display is a 16th-century tunic covered with citations from the Koran, which was worn as protection against harm under a suit of armour. It is accompanied by two sabers, made of Damascus steel, which are marked with the name of Emperor.

The collection displays a jade wine cup made for the fourth of the Mughal emperors, Jahangir in 1607-1608, the only known dated object specifically connected with an Emperor's name. The Persian text on the cup contains quotations from the Koran, and notes that it is the personal cup of the Emperor, with a date.[6]