ADORNMENT AND IDENTITY: JEWELLERY FROM OMAN
Organisation: British Museum
Time: 21 January 2011 10:00am - 11 September 2011 5:30pm
Place: British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG
The British Museum Presents:
ADORNMENT AND IDENTITY
JEWELLERY AND COSTUME FROM OMAN
A unique display features a selection of 20th-century silver jewellery, weaponry and male and female dress from Oman.
The display includes bracelets, anklets, necklaces, earrings, hair ornaments, kohl pots, and men’s accessories. The jewellery is decorated with coins, coral and glass beads, and gold leaf decoration, with many amuletic pieces incorporating elaborate Qur’an cases. Also featured are colourful embroidered costumes, including children’s outfits, from different regions of Oman.
The Sultanate of Oman is a country with a history that stretches back to the third millennium BC. This display celebrates Oman’s more recent heritage, focusing on objects of personal adornment and dress from the 1950s to the present day. Many of the objects were acquired recently by the British Museum.
Oman is the third largest country of the Arabian Peninsula, with its capital at Muscat. The country’s landscape ranges from sand and rock deserts to mountain ranges and lush valleys. It has an extensive coastline that overlooks three main expanses of water. Oman is renowned for its fragrant frankincense, dates, and magnificent sailing vessels, called dhows. Throughout its history, this seafaring nation of traders has linked the Middle East with Europe, East Africa, Iran, the Indian subcontinent and beyond. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said is the current ruler of Oman. Over the past 40 years of his leadership, Oman has witnessed unprecedented growth in its educational, social and economic development. Oman maintains an enviable balance between modernity and its historic cultural heritage.
Until 11 September 2011 | open daily 10:00-17:30 (Friday lates until 20:30)
Room 2
British Museum
Great Russell Street
London
WC1B 3DG
FREE
FORTHCOMING RELATED EVENTS AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM
Lecture: The Craft Heritage of Oman
1 April | 18:30 | Stevenson Lecture Theatre | Tickets: £5/£3 conc. | Book online/call: 020 7323 8181
Family activity: Costume Capers
2 April | 12:00, 13:00, 14:30 | Room 2 | Free, limited spaces
Film: The Frankincense Trail: Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia
2 April | 15:00-16:00 | Stevenson Lecture Theatre | Free, booking advised | Book online/call: 020 7323 8181
Gallery talk: Male and Female dress in Oman
5 April | 13:15 | Room 2 | Free, drop-in
Workshop: Decorative Pewter Vessel Workshop
16 April | 11:00-17:00 | £45/£31.50 | Call 020 7323 8181
Performance: The Traditional Music of Oman
11 June | 14:00, 16:15 | Great Court | Free, drop-in, limited seating
Performance: Music of the Sultanate of Oman
11 June | 15:00 | Stevenson Lecture Theatre | Free
Gallery talk: The Beauty and Significance of Indigo-Dyed Costumes of Oman
17 June | 13:15 | Room 2 | Free, drop-in
Lecture: The Science Behind Omani Silver
6 July | 13:15 | Room 2 | Free, drop-in
Film: The Jewel of Muscat double bill
30 July | 14:00-16:00 | Stevenson Lecture Theatre | Tickets: £3/£2 conc. | Book online/call: 020 7323 8181
Lecture: Omani Adornment: Curator's Introduction
5 August | 13:15 | Stevenson Lecture Theatre | Free, book advised | Book online/call: 020 7323 8181
Gallery talk: The Perfect Marriage: The Maria Theresa thaler and Omani Jewellery
23 August | 13:15 | Room 2 | Free, drop-in
Gallery talk: The Burqa' (face mask) in Oman: An Object of Beauty and Status
8 September | 13:15 | Room 2 | Free, drop-in
For more information contact the British Museum on:
T: 020 7323 8299
E: information@britishmuseum.org
Image above:Silver samt necklace with Maria Theresa thaler pendants on indigo-dyed cotton, Oman, 20th century.