Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (the Sabah Collection of Islamic Art)

The al-Sabah Collection contains almost two thousand items of metalwork ranging from elaborately worked vessels inlaid with precious metals to simply cast bronze finials in the form of animals. Islamic metalworkers, whether in Cairo or Herat, often fashioned relatively simple forms covered the surface in dazzling engraved or precious metal-inlaid patterns of arabesque interlace, processions of animals or long benedictory inscriptions. Objects with calligraphy as decoration occur more frequently in metalwork than any other medium used for objects of utility. These range from benedictory inscriptions to verses from the Qur’an to lines of poetry, and sometimes include the signatures of the artists.

The ancient Near East has a long history of working in copper alloy and bronzes and brasses (copper alloyed with other metals) became the most important material in the mediaeval period. Objects are almost invariably sculpturally powerful, and examples of everyday objects such as oil lamps or incense burners became works of art. Brass was especially popular in the Mamluk domains. In the later period, especially in Iran and India, steel was used for decorative purposes; despite its hardness, it could be cut in openwork patterns, such as arabesques and calligraphic compositions as delicate as lace. View some of the collections at: http://darmuseum.org.kw/dai/the-collections/metals/


http://darmuseum.org.kw/dai/exhibitions/current-exhibitions/loans-from-the-kuwait-national-museum/Inventory No. 8480. A seal from Dilmun, made of soft stone, classified as the 3rd largest seal in Failaka Island, decorated with human and zoomorphic figures. 0.16 X 4.8 cm. Site: the Ruler's Palace. 2nd millennium BCE, Dilmun civilization [NOTE: Many such seals of Failaka and Dilmun have been read rebus as Indus writing on blogposts.]

Failaka Island is located approximately 20 km northeast of Kuwait City. The island has a shallow surface measuring 12 km in length and 6 km width. The island proved to be an ideal location for human settlements, because of the wealth of natural resources, including harbours, fresh water, and fertile soil. It was also a strategic maritime commercial route that linked the northern side of the Gulf to the southern side. Studies show that traces of human settlement can be found on Failaka dating back to as early as the end of the 3rd millennium BC and extended through most of the 20th century CE.

Failaka was first known as Agarum, the land of Enzak, the great god of Dilmun civilisation according to Sumerian cuneiform texts found on the island. Dilmun was the leading commercial hub for its powerful neighbours in their need to exchange processed goods for raw materials. Sailing the Arabian Gulf was by far the most convenient trade route at a time as transportation over land meant a much longer and more hazardous journey. As part of Dilmun, Failaka became a hub for the activities which radiated around Dilmun (Bahrain) from the end of the 3rd millennium to the mid-1st millennium BCE.

The cities of Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Harappan people from the Indus Valley, the inhabitants of Magan and the Iranian hinterland have left many archaeological traces of their encounters on Failaka Island. More speculative is the ongoing debate among academics on whether Failaka might be the mythical Eden: the place where Sumerian hero Gilgamesh almost unraveled the secret of immortality; the paradise later described in the Bible.

As a result of changes in the balance of political powers in the region towards the end of the 2nd millennium BCE and beginning of 1st millennium BCE, the importance of Failaka began to decline.

Studies indicate that Alexander the Great received reports from missions sent to explore the Arabian shoreline of the Gulf. The reports referenced two islands, one located approximately 120 stadia (almost 19 km) from an estuary; the second island located a complete day and night sailing journey with proper climate conditions. As the historian Aryan stated, “Alexander the Great ordered that the nearer island be named “Ikaros” (now Failaka) and the distant island as “Tylos” (now the Kingdom of Bahrain). Ikaros was described by the explorers as an island covered with rich vegetation and a shelter for numerous wild animals, considered sacred by the inhabitants who dedicate them to their local goddess.

After the collapse of the great empires in western Asia (Greek, Persian, Roman), the first centuries of the Christian era brought new settlers to Failaka. The island became a secure home for a Christian community, possibly Nestorian, until the 9th century CE. At Al- Qusur, in the centre of the island, archaeologists have uncovered two churches, built at an undetermined date, around which a large settlement grew. Its name may have changed again at that time, to Ramatha.
Failaka was continuously inhabited throughout the Islamic period until the 1990s. Excavations on the Island began in 1958 and continue today. Many archaeological expeditions have worked on Failaka and it is considered one of the key sources of knowledge about civilisations emerging from within the Gulf region.

Brochure at http://darmuseum.org.kw/dai/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Loans-From-KNM-Brochure.pdf

Pre-cuneiform tablet with seal impressions
Fig. 24 Line drawing showing the seal impression on this tablet. Illustration by Abdallah Kahil.
Proto-Cuneiform tablet with seal impressions. Jemdet Nasr period, ca. 3100-2900 BCE. Mesopotamia. Clay H. 5.5 cm; W.7 cm. 

Source:  Kim Benzel, Sarah B. Graff, Yelena Rakic and Edith W. Watts, 2010, Art of the Ancient Near East, a resource for educators, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art 
http://www.metmuseum.org/~/media/Files/Learn/For%20Educators/Publications%20for%20Educators/Art%20of%20the%20Ancient%20Near%20East.pdf