Visiting The Museum
Saturday – Thursday: 09:00 AM – 12.00 PM & 16:00 PM – 19:00PM
Friday: 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Tareq Rajab Museum
Block 12, Street 5, Building 22
Jabriya, Kuwait
Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy
Block 12, Street 1, Building 2
Jabriya, Kuwait
Admission is KD2 for adults
Admission for school trips is free
The same ticket can be used at both museums
Visiting The Museum
Saturday – Thursday: 09:00 AM – 12.00 PM & 16:00 PM – 19:00PM
Friday: 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Tareq Rajab Museum
Block 12, Street 5, Building 22
Jabriya, Kuwait
Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy
Block 12, Street 1, Building 2
Jabriya, Kuwait
Admission is KD2 for adults
Admission for school trips is free
The same ticket can be used at both museums
Visiting the Museum
Saturday – Thursday: 09:00 AM – 12.00 PM & 16:00 PM – 19:00PM
Friday: 09:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Tareq Rajab Museum
Block 12, Street 5, Building 22
Jabriya, Kuwait
Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy
Block 12, Street 1, Building 2
Jabriya, Kuwait
Admission is KD2 for adults
Admission for school trips is free
The same ticket can be used at both museums
Welcome To The Tareq Rajab Museum
Established in 1980 by Tareq S. Rajab and Jehan S. Rajab, the Tareq Rajab Museum houses a collection of over thirty thousand items collected over the last sixty years, of which approximately ten thousand are on permanent display. While the museum is often referred to as a single entity, its collections are displayed across two nearby locations. The “Tareq Rajab Museum“, is the original museum founded in 1980 and is home to the collections of Islamic manuscripts, ceramics, glass, metalwork including the Bronze Door of Sultan Barquq, Islamic arms and armour, a large collection of silver folk jewellery, textiles, embroideries, costumes, musical instruments and orientalist artwork. In contrast, the “Tareq Rajab Museum of Islamic Calligraphy“, which was founded in 2007, displays a range of mediums for Arabic script including manuscripts by famous calligraphers and scientists such as Yaqut Al-Musta’simi, Sheikh Hamdullah Al-Amasi, Ya’qub Ibn Ishaq Al-Kindi and Qusta Ibn Luqa Al-Ba’albaki, contemporary calligraphy and art, as well as decorated ceramics, metalwork, glass and textiles, such as four Burqa’s (curtains of the Holy Ka’aba’s door) located at the centre of the museum and a curtain from the inside of the shrine of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) in Medina.
Featured Collections
The Tareq Rajab Museum is home to a very large and important collection of Al Quran and manuscripts that originate from across the entirety of the Islamic World, encompassing works from the earliest Umayyad Caliphs (AD 661-750) to The Qajars of Persia (AD 1779-1924).
The Gold Room displays gold jewellery from both pre-Islamic and Islamic periods. While the museum is home to pre-Islamic piece's that originate from the Himalayan region, the majority originate from the Middle East, influencing later craft development in the Islamic world.
The Tareq Rajab Museum contains pottery and ceramics from many regions across the Islamic World, including Mesopotamia, Persia, Transoxiana, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Spain and as far as China; with examples dating from between the 9th century and the 19th century AD.
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🏺 A black-on-white slip-painted earthenware figurine (likely a toy) of a small animal, probably a sheep or a dog. The figurine is coated with a ground white slip, on which manganese lines and dots are painted (Nishapur, Iran, 10th Century AD).
🏛 During the Islamic Golden Age, particularly the 9th & 10th centuries AD, Nishapur was one of the great places of pottery and related arts, evolving into a significant cultural, commercial and intellectual centre. The city reached its height during the 10th century AD, under the Samanids; however, during the Mongol Invasion of Persia in AD 1221, the entire city was destroyed, and its population was massacred. Unlike its near neighbouring city of Merv, Nishapur always managed to recover and has survived to this day.
📸 Photographs by @tareqrajab
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🗡 A fine jade-hilted Mughal dagger carved in the shape of a budding flower decorated with foliage. The hilt possesses a white body that transitions into a blue-grey towards the pommel. The watered steel blade is decorated with gold koftgari at the forte, with inscriptions on both sides (India, 18th Century AD).
💭 Descendants of the Timurids, who were great patrons of jade, the Mughals were keen to follow suit, crafting some of the finest jade objects known today. Mughal jade working is thought to have started under the rule of Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605). However, it was perhaps during the reigns of the Emperors Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) and Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) that Mughal jade craftsmanship reached its zenith.
📸 Photographs by @tareqrajab
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🎨 “Sheikh Medjuel el Mezrab of Palmyra” by Carl Haag (AD 1859). Sheikh Medjuel is well known for his marriage to the famous Lady Jane Digby. The pair met after Digby travelled to Syria in AD 1853 at the age of 46. Sheikh Medjuel was 20 years her junior; however, the pair were soon married, enjoying a happy marriage for 28 years until Digby died in AD 1881. A portrait of Lady Jane Digby by Carl Haag is also on display at the Tareq Rajab Museum.
🖌 Carl Haag (AD 1820 - 1915) was born on the 20th of April 1820 in Erlangen, then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Haag was trained at the Fine Arts school of Nuremberg, later coming under the tutelage of Peter von Cornelius, Carl Rottman and Wilhelm von Kaulbach, who took him under his wing. Having fallen in love with the watercolour work of English painters, Haag, at the age of 27, decided to settle in London, devoting himself to the study of watercolours. Just three years later, Haag was elected an associate of the Royal Society of British Artists before becoming a full member in 1853. After being introduced to Queen Victoria by Prince-Consort Albert, she became his patron, commissioning many paintings.
🕌 It was not until AD 1858 that Haag travelled to Egypt and wholly immersed himself in Middle Eastern culture, spending a great deal of time with many nomadic peoples. His work during this time truly cemented his reputation as an artist to this day. However, towards the end of his career, Haag left his home in England and returned to the newly united German Empire, where he lived out the remainder of his days, passing away in Oberwesel at the age of 94.
📸 Photographs by @tareqrajab
#orientalism #orientalisimo #orientalist #orientalistart #watercolor #watercolour #watercolorart #19thcenturywatercolour #orientalwatercolorpainting #19thcenturyart #19thcenturypainting #19thcenturyantiques #19thcenturydress #sheikhmedjuel #janedigby #ladyjanedigby #carlhaag #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwait #kuwaitinstagram #kuwaittourism #visitkuwait #kuwaitmuseums #syrianhistory #palmyra #islamicart #arabcostumes #arabhistory #arabhistoricaldress #levantine
🦚 A mythical creature, likely a harpy, made of cast steel and decorated with gold inlay and damascene with extensive openwork on the tail and crown (Iran c. 19th Century AD).
🏛 A harpy is a human-bird, possessing the body of a bird and the face of a human (usually a female). Although originating as a disruptive force in Greek mythology, they were considered a positive sign in Iran and were adapted as a motif in the 12th century AD. Supposed symbols of luck and promising beginnings, they became very common across various mediums of Islamic art, particularly metalwork and earthenware.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicarts #islamicartmuseum #islamicmetalwork #islamichistory #harpy #persianart #persianmetalwork #caststeel #goldinlay #golddamascened #openwork #19thcentury #19thcenturyart #mythologicalcreatures #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #kuwaitmuseums #tareqrajabmuseum #persianhistory #iranianhistory #persianmythology #kuwaitphotography #metalsculpture #metalsculptures
🎨 "Conversation at the Well" by Tomàs Moragas (AD 1837 - 1906). Born in Girona, Moragas was a Spanish painter known for his Orientalist and genre scenes.
✍️ Moragas showed signs of talent at a young age and started an apprenticeship with a silversmith. However, his interests lay elsewhere, and in 1850, he attended the Escola de la Llotja, an art school in Barcelona where Lorenzale and Fontanals instructed him.
🐫 His interest in Orientalism began in 1870 when he visited Morocco, after which he began his most productive period of painting. Moragas would go on to open a drawing and painting school whilst also serving as a Professor at multiple other art schools. Later, he became an artistic advisor for the Barcelona Universal Exposition.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#orientalism #orientalisimo #orientalist #orient #orientalistpainting #oilpainting #oilpaint #oilpaintings #moragas #tomasmoragas #spanishartists #19thcenturyart #19thcenturypainting #19thcenturyorientalism #19thcenturyorientalist #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #kuwaitart #kuwaitartwork #historyofart #morocco #escoladelallotja #museumsofkuwait
We recently had the pleasure of welcoming Her Excellency, Aliya Mawani, the Canadian Ambassador to Kuwait to our Islamic Calligraphy Museum 🇨🇦🇰🇼
🎨 Day 7 of Miniature week! This miniature depicts Iskandar fighting the Habashis on a pink hillside against a golden sky (Persia, c. mid 16th century AD).
🇮🇷 Iskandar in Persian miniatures is in fact, Alexander the Great and interestingly, is depicted as a Persian hero in both the famous works of Nizami and Firdawsi. He is actually described as the son of a Persian king named Daraaye Darab and a daughter of Philip, a king.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this collection week. Please stay tuned for the next one!
📸 Photographs by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi
🎨 Day 6 of Miniature week! This miniature depicts Bahram Gur and the princess in the blue pavilion from Nizami's Khamsa (Shiraz, AD 1517).
👑 This miniature depicts a scene from the 4th of Nizami's five epic poems. The Sasanian King Bahram Gur is drawn with one of the "Seven Princesses". In the story, the King married seven beautiful princesses from across the world, visiting each one in their own pavilions on successive nights of the week. During each visit, every princess tells a story of her own, with additional stories buried within each one.
📸 Photographs by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi
🎨 Day 5 of Miniature week! This miniature depicts a soldier watching on as another is impaled by sharp rocks after being stabbed in the back (Shiraz c. AD 1570)
🏔 Interestingly, the landscapes of Persian miniatures are often very mountainous, while the plains of Persia are rarely ever attempted. This may be portrayed as a high undulating horizon and outcrops of bare rock. In fact, even when a scene is indoors, the viewpoint is more often than not, from some metres in the air.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi
🎨 Day 4 of Miniature week! This miniature depicts a convivial party under a tree. Two men are playing chess while others watch on. In the foreground, two more men are preparing food and are blowing on the fire underneath two cooking pots (Isfahan, c. mid 17th century AD).
📚 This is an example of miniatures produced in later periods. They were created as single works to be included in albums called "muraqqa", rather than illustrated books. This essentially allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles and periods.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi
🎨 Day 3 of Miniature week! Titled "The Old Woman’s Petition To Sultan Sanjar", this leaf is from Nizami's Khamsa and depicts the Sultan Sanjar riding a white horse followed by his attendants. There is a stream in the foreground and coloured clouds in a golden sky. (Shiraz, AD 1517)
⚔️ Sultan Sanjar was the final Seljuq Emperor, reigning from AD 1118 - 1157. Seljuq power began to rapidly decline after the Sultan's astounding defeat to Kara Khitan at the Battle of Qatwan (AD 1141), near Samarkand, where he and just 15 of his elite horsemen escaped with their lives. The Seljuq's lost all of their territory east of the Syr Darya and after another defeat in AD 1153, the Empire collapsed.
🪦 Sultan Sanjar died in Merv in AD 1157. His tomb was later destroyed by the Mongols in AD 1221, during their invasion of the Khwarezmian Empire.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi
🎨 Day 2 of Miniature week! This miniature depicts Khosrow in night attire killing a lion with his fists outside of Shirin's tent. The leaf is from Nizami's Khamsa and is signed by "Giyath Ad-Din (Shiraz, AD 1517).
🇮🇷 The story of Khosrow and Shirin is a famous tragic romance by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi (AD 1149 - 1209) and tells a fictional version of the love of the Sasanian King Khosrow II for the Armenian princess Shirin, who becomes Queen of Persia.
🫂 After a long tale full of trials, tribulations and romantic and heroic episodes Shirin finally agrees to marry Khosrow. However, his son Shiroyeh, was also in love with Shirin and kills his father, forcing Shirin to marry him instead. In order to avoid marrying Shiroyeh, Shirin kills herself. The tale ends with both Khosrow and Shirin being buried together in the same grave.
📸 Photograph’s by @tareqrajab
#islamicart #islamicartwork #islamicartworks #islamicpainting #islamicpaintings #islamicminiature #persianminiature #persianminiatures #miniaturepainting #miniaturephotography #islamichistory #persianheritage #persianhistory #16thcentury #16thcenturyart #16thcenturyantiques #kuwait #visitkuwait #kuwaittourism #tareqrajabmuseum #kuwaitphotography #kuwaitreels #kuwaithistory #kuwaitmuseums #islamicartmuseum #15thcentury #medievalpainting #illuminatedmanuscript #shahnameh #shahnameh_ferdowsi