Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Museum of Islamic Art

متحف الفن الإسلامي
Established	22 November 2008 (2008-11-22)
Location	Doha, Qatar
Coordinates
Type	Art Museum
Owner	Qatar Museums
Website	www.mia.org.qa/en

Ceiling with Islamic patterns

The Museum of Islamic Art (Arabic: متحف الفن الإسلامي‎‎, matḥaf al-fann al-islāmī) is a museum located on the Corniche in the Qatari capital Doha. The iconic building was designed by architect I. M. Pei.

Facilities

A 280,000 m² park is located behind the main building. Facilities inside the 5-storey museum include a gift shop, a library, classrooms and a 200-seat theater. There are also prayer rooms and ablution facilities inside the museum building for all Muslim visitors. Other facilities include IDAM, a high class restaurant offering French Mediterranean cuisine with Arabic elements.

Architecture

The museum is influenced by ancient Islamic architecture, yet has a unique design. It was the first of its kind in Arab States of the Persian Gulf and has a very large collection of Islamic art, plus a study and a library. Sabiha Al Khemir served as the founding director of the museum from 2006-2008.

Occupying a total area of 45,000 m², the museum is located on an artificial peninsula overlooking the south end of Doha Bay. Construction by Baytur Construction Co. (Turkey) was completed in 2006, but the museum's interior was subjected to a variety of changes thereafter. The museum celebrated its VIP opening on November 22, 2008, and opened to the general public on December 8, 2008.

The museum's architect was I. M. Pei. At the age of 91, Pei had to be coaxed out of retirement to undertake this enterprise. He traveled throughout the Muslim world on a six-month quest to learn about Muslim architecture and history and read Muslim texts to draw inspiration for his design. Declining all proposed sites for the museum, Pei suggested a stand-alone island for the structure in order to avoid the encroachment on other buildings. Thus it was built on the water, approximately 195 feet (59 m) off the Doha Corniche and surrounded by a park. Pei requested, further, that the museum spaces be designed by his collaborator on the Louvre project, Wilmotte & Associes, who then assembled a design team including Plowden & Smith (conservation consultants), Isometrix Lighting + Design (lighting consultants), SG Conseil (AV Consultants) under Turner Projacs. Along with this design team, Leslie E. Robertson Associates was the structural engineer for this project.

Collections

The Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) represents Islamic art from three continents over 1,400 years. Its collection includes metalwork, ceramics, jewellery, woodwork, textiles and glass, obtained from three continents and dating from the 7th to the 19th century. The artifacts come from both the secular and religious aspects of diverse worlds, all of which are connected by their profession of Islam, but many of which are non-religious in nature.

Collection origins

Main article: Collecting practices of the Al-Thani Family

The museum houses a collection of works gathered since the late 1980s, including manuscripts, textiles and ceramics. It is one of the world’s most complete collections of Islamic artifacts, with items originating in Spain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, India, and Central Asia.

Gallery

• 

  Outside view of the museum by night

Notes

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons