The al-Sabah Collection — one of the great private collections of Islamic art — is shown by Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah at the Amricani Cultural Centre, a restored early-20th-century mission hospital on the seafront.
The collection was assembled by Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Sheikha Hussah Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. It spans manuscripts and books, ceramics, glass, metalwork, precious stones and jewelled objects, architectural ornament, textiles and carpets, coins and scientific instruments, from Spain to China.
Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI) runs exhibitions, education programmes, conservation laboratories and a research library, and its cultural season of lectures and concerts is a fixture of Kuwait’s winter.
The Amricani Cultural Centre occupies the buildings of the former American Mission Hospital, one of the first modern hospitals in Kuwait, now restored as galleries.
Good to know
- Check the DAI website for current exhibitions and the cultural season programme.
