The National Museum of Qatar is a national museum in Doha, Qatar. The current building opened to the public on 28 March 2019, replacing the previous building which opened in 1975. The building was designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel who was inspired by the desert rose crystal, which is found in Qatar. The museum site includes Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani's palace, which is the heart of the Qatari national identity.
Collection
A tour of the museum takes visitors through a loop of galleries that address three major, interrelated themes. The galleries are loosely arranged in chronological order, beginning with exhibitions on the natural history of the desert and the Persian Gulf, artefacts from Bedouin culture, historical exhibitions on the tribal wars, the establishment of the Qatari state, and finally the discovery of oil to the present. The displays and installations that explore these themes present audiovisual displays with carefully selected treasures from the museum's collections. These collections currently consist of approximately 8,000 objects and include archaeological artefacts, architectural elements, heritage household and travelling objects, textiles and costumes, jewelry, decorative arts, books, and historical documents. The museum's mission is to celebrate the culture, heritage, and future of Qatar and its people, embodying the pride and traditions of Qataris while offering international visitors a dialogue about rapid change and modernization. Since its inauguration, the museum contained materials which signify Qatar's cultural heritage, such as Bedouin ethnographic materials, maritime artifacts and environmental items. Ancient artifacts, most of which are locally derived, are also housed in the museum.
Archaeological artifacts British archaeologist Beatrice de Cardi and her team were commissioned to undertake expeditions in Qatar from November 1973 to January 1974 in order to collect artifacts to display in the museum. Their most significant discoveries were at the site of Al Da'asa, which contained numerous Ubaid potsherds dating to the Neolithic period. Artifacts from the earlier Danish expeditions launched throughout the 1950s and 1960s, previously housed at the Doha Public Library, were also put on display in the museum. The museum's antiquities department had an active role in surveys and excavations after De Cardi's expedition ended. They excavated the archaeological sites of Al Wusail and Zubarah.
Ethnographic materials Materials documenting Bedouin ethnography range widely in theme. Certain objects on display were historically used as tools and weapons by the Bedouin, whereas others are products such as jewellery, pottery and costumes. Traditional poems are featured in the museum; most notable are works composed by Qatari ibn al-Fuja'a and former emir Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani. In 2015, Sheikh Mubarak bin Saif Al Thani presented the first written draft of the anthem to the Qatar National Museum to be put on display. It was originally scheduled to be moved to the new museum upon its completion.
History
Upon Khalifa bin Hamad Al Thani's accession to the throne in 1972, he drew up plans for a national museum in order to document the country's heritage and traditions. That year, he contracted Michael Rice & Company to design the structural and functional aspects of the museum. It was decided that the building would enclose the Old Amiri Palace, a dilapidated early-20th-century palace previously occupied by Qatar's former emir, Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. A lagoon was also created to provide a venue for showcasing traditional dhows and pearling equipment. Originally named the Qatar National Museum, it was inaugurated on 23 June 1975. Originally, its facilities included a 100-seat auditorium and a library. In 1980, the museum was awarded the Aga Khan Award for Architecture. The royal palace which the museum was built around was refurbished in 2015 in preparation for the opening of the new museum. An online platform called Explorer was launched in 2023 by the museum. The platform gives viewers access to online collections, an archaeology and heritage map as well as an interactive timeline of the museum. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by the NMoQ’s director of partnerships and sponsorships and the director of the National Museum of Mongolia in December 2023 the "On the Move" exhibition in Mongolia in 2024, to commemorate the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. In June 2026, the exhibition was opened at the National Museum of China in Beijing. The NMoQ participated in the Expo 2023 Doha, with activities and workshops for families centred around Qatar’s traditions, culture and natural environment. In September 2023, the Museum received the Green Apple Award for Best Environmental Practices 2023 and in July 2024, the Museum received a Carbon Neutrality Certificate. During the 2024 Summer Olympics, the NMoQ's Jiwan restaurant provided a week's menu for Le Dalí at the Le Meurice hotel in France. The menu focuses on traditional Middle Eastern as well as regional culinary dishes.
New building
The new building was constructed on the site of the old building. It was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel who was inspired by the desert rose and grows around the original twentieth-century palace of Sheikh Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani. The historic palace was restored by Berlin-based architecture and engineering firm ZRS Architekten Ingenieure. This important monument to Qatar's past is now preserved as the heart of the new NMoQ. The relation between the new building and the old building is part of creating the bridge between the past and the present advocated by Sheikha Al Mayassa as a way to "define ourselves instead of forever being defined by others […]" and of "celebrating our identity". The 430,000 square foot (40,000 m2) museum is made up of interlocking discs that create cavities to protect visitors from the desert heat. Located on a 1.5 million ft² site at the south end of Doha's Corniche, the NMoQ building rises from the sea and is connected to the shore by two pedestrian bridges and a road bridge.
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
