Thursday 24 / October / 2024
The National Museum inaugurated the second exhibition of the Gallery of Oman initiative at the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, titled “The Omani Empire: Asia and Africa,” on Saturday 9th December 2023. This exhibition will continue for all visitors until January 26, 2025.
The opening of the exhibition comes after the success of the first edition of this initiative on June 2nd, 2021 CE, and within the framework of the ongoing bilateral cooperation between the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum.
The opening ceremony was attended by Her Highness Sayyida Dr.Mona bint Fahd al-Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for International Cooperation, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan al-Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, and H.E. Hamood bin Salim al-Towaiya, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Russian Federation, and Professor Dr Mikhail Petrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum and member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, and several officials and those interested in the cultural field.
The exhibition includes 28 artefacts that reflect the history of the Omani Empire, both its Asian and African sides, and focuses on different and gradual periods for the rulers of Oman, including the al-Yarubi Imams and the al-Busaid Sultans in the period between the 17th and 19th centuries, and their role as a link between the neighbouring countries such as the Arabian Peninsula and Western Asia with the East African coast.
The exhibition tells the story of the history of the Omanis in East Africa and their role in expelling the Portuguese from East Africa and establishing the sprawling Omani Empire, and the resulting manifestations of the Omani civilisational influences in East Africa in the social, religious, political, economic, cultural, and urban fields, which are still witnessing the Omani influence until today.
One of the most prominent objects on display is a curved-edged sword (shamshir), attributed to Imam Saif bin Sultan al-Yarbi I, dating back to the period (1086 AH / 1675 CE).
The exhibition also includes the Noble Qur’an (Endowment copy of Fatima, servant of Sultan Said bin Sultan al-Busaidi) dating back to (4th June 1847 CE), and the “Dictionary of Islamic Law” consisting of 90 volumes dating back to the period 1297 AH/1880 CE, which is the largest encyclopedia of Ibadi jurisprudence and was the first publication of the Royal Press in Zanzibar. The exhibition also includes a curved single-edged sword “Kittarah” dating back to the al-Busaid dynasty between the two centuries (11-13 AH/17-19 CE).
It is believed that this sword with a short Caucasian blade, imported from the Russian Empire, was used for fencing aboard one of the fleets of the Omani Empire during that period. Also on display is an al-Saidi dagger belonging to Sultan Hamoud bin Muhammad al-Busaidi dating back to the 14th century AH/late 19th century CE.
The exhibition also includes a chair dating back to the 12th c AH/18th c CE, on loan from the family of Sheikh Sir Mubarak bin Ali al-Hinawy. The exhibition also contains several jewellery and costumes attributed to Sayyida Salma bint Said al-Busaidi, who lived in the period between (1260-1342 AH/1844–1924 CE), where Sayyida Salma is unique in that she wrote her prominent autobiography in German, titled “Memoirs of an Arab Princess from Zanzibar”; As the first biography of an Arab woman in history. Sayyida Salma’s memoirs, along with the exhibited items, provide an amazing glimpse into life in the Royal Court in the century (13 AH/19 CE), and bear witness to the quality and diversity of the costumes and jewellery that the women of the court wore.
Her Highness Sayyida Dr. Mona bint Fahd al-Said, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Sultan Qaboos University for International Cooperation and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, said in her speech at the opening ceremony: “Through this participation, we seek to highlight the Omani history through its diverse collections, which acquire this splendour. Amid this lofty edifice, and for this relationship to remain eternal between our two friendly countries, these mutual efforts emerged between the two sides in various cultural and museum activities and even reached coordination to protect global humanitarian antiquities, the latest of which was the mediation efforts adopted by the National Museum in the Sultanate of Oman with the State Hermitage Museum to recover antiquities of Syrian Arab Republic from the British Museum in September of this year. It also witnessed bilateral cooperation in the process of preserving and conserving damaged objects during the years of the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic in Muscat, at the hands of experts from the State Hermitage Museum. Thanks to this cooperation, the objects were returned in their original appearance to their homeland in the Syrian Arab Republic, and they are present in the conscience of human heritage and a rich asset in the memory of this nation.
She added: “The importance of this initiative is to highlight the cultural dimensions of the Sultanate of Oman and the manifestations of its unique cultural heritage across times and eras. This is to introduce the educated and informed person, whether he is a child or a young person, a citizen or a visitor to this ancient country, as well as to build the reputation of our country as a distinctive destination for tourism fused with culture and history.”
For his part, His Excellency Jamal bin Hassan al-Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, said: “The “Omani Empire: Asia and Africa” exhibition sheds light on a period that is not much known about our history outside the Sultanate of Oman, as Oman played a pivotal role in linking its ties in the Arabian Peninsula and West Asia. With the East African coast and the African hinterland, the exhibition includes selected collections representing the al-Yarubi and al-Busaid periods, which formed two maritime empires from the 17th century and reached their peak in the 19th century. The collections represent an important aspect of Oman’s historical mission of establishing a prosperous, cosmopolitan, multicultural and tolerant nation under Its Imams and Sultans, and we are confident that our respected Russian audience, and the guests of St. Petersburg, will find inspiration in this chapter of Oman’s history.”
In turn, H.E. Hamood bin Salim al-Towaiya, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to the Russian Federation, said that “Museum and cultural cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the Russian Federation contributes to strengthening cultural diplomacy between the two friendly countries.”
H.E. added that “the cooperation relations between the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum, including organising periodic exhibitions in Muscat and St. Petersburg to introduce visitors to Omani history and culture, strengthens the bonds of friendship and reflects positively on the development of relations between the two countries in all other fields.”
It is worth noting that the cooperation between the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum in the Russian Federation began in the year 2014 when Professor Dr. Mikhail Petrovsky - Director General of the State Hermitage Museum, was accepted as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum, and in the year 2015, a memorandum of understanding was signed in cultural and museum fields between the two sides, in a ceremony that took place at the State Hermitage Museum, where the State Hermitage Museum received several National Museum employees for training and qualification in various specialized museum fields.
In the year 2018 CE, the “Oman Day” initiative was launched in the Russian Federation in cooperation with the National Museum and with the participation of the National Records and Archives Authority and the Ministry of Heritage and Culture (at that time), with the State Hermitage Museum being the first station for this international initiative. In the year 2019 CE, the “Hermitage Day” initiative and exhibition was hosted at the National Museum, making it the first global stop for this initiative. During the year 2019 CE, three agreements were signed, namely: the Agreement of Establishing the Gallery of Oman in the State Hermitage Museum, the Agreement of Allocating the Hermitage Corner at the National Museum, and an agreement to host the “Islamic Civilisation in Russia” exhibition at the National Museum. The National Museum also inaugurated the Gallery of Oman at the Winter Palace in the State Hermitage Museum in the year June 2021 CE.
In November 2021 CE, the museum inaugurated the original manuscript of “Collection of Proses in Marine Science )UrjūzahMoa’lakiya, Urjūzah Alttayiya, and Urjūzah Sufalia (by the Omani navigator Shihab al-Din Ahmad bin Majid as-Saadi, which was loaned from the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts in St. Petersburg. On 25th November 2021 CE, The National Museum launched the “Islamic Civilisation in Russia” and “Hermitage Corner” exhibitions, and as part of mediation efforts, the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum recovered Syrian artefacts from the British Museum in September of this year. The bilateral cooperation also witnessed the preservation and conservation of damaged objects during the years of crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic in Muscat by experts from the State Hermitage Museum. Thanks to this cooperation, the objects were returned in their original appearance to their homeland in the Syrian Arab Republic. In addition, The National Museum participated in the 9th St. Petersburg International Forum for Culture in the city of St. Petersburg, from (November 16-18). On the sidelines of the participation, several agreements were signed with many museums of the Russian Federation.
