National Museum (Oman)

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The National Museum of the Sultanate of Oman is a museum located in Oman. It was developed as a result of a ten-year collaboration between the Ministry of Heritage and Culture, the Royal Estate Affairs of Oman, Jasper Jacob Associates (J.J.A.), and Arts Architecture International Ltd (A.A.I.), and opened to the public in 2016.

Contents

Background

The museum was established by a royal decree in 2013 and opened on July 30, 2016. [1] It was designed to be the Sultanate's flagship cultural institution, showcasing the nation's heritage from the earliest human settlement in the Oman Peninsula some two million years ago through to the present day.

Collection

The National Museum houses 5,466 objects, among them an internationally significant collection of prehistoric metallic artifacts. [2] Its curator, Mouza Sulaiman Mohamed Al-Wardi, is part of an international team exploring the legacy of Oman's silverwork tradition, where historically women were also silversmiths. [2] [3] [4]

The museum is equipped with infrastructure for 43 digital immersive experiences, a learning center, conservation facilities, an ultra-high-definition cinema, [5] and discovery areas for children. [6] It adopted the region's first open-plan museum storage concept, where visitors learn about the various processes that artifacts go through before they are put on display.[ citation needed ] It features an integrated infrastructure for special needs and is the first museum in the Middle East to adopt Arabic Braille script for the visually impaired.[ citation needed ]

Building

The museum is in a purpose-designed building in the heart of Muscat. The total area of the building is 13,700 square metres (147,000 sq ft), including 4,000 square metres (43,000 sq ft) allocated for 14 permanent galleries. [7] A further 400 square metres (4,300 sq ft) are allocated for temporary exhibitions.

Galleries

Building and facilities
Total plot area24000 m2
Total building area13700 m2
Total gallery area4000 m2
Number of galleries14
Permanent GalleriesThe Land and the People

Maritime History

Arms and Armour

Civilisation in the Making

Aflaj

Currency

Timeline

Bat, al-Khutm and al-Ayn

Land of Frankincense

Prehistory and Ancient History

Splendours of Islam

Oman and the World

The Renaissance

Intangible Heritage

Other facilitiesLearning Centre

Conservation Facilities

Temporary Exhibitions Gallery

Collections Gallery (Open Storage Concept)

Café

Gift Shop

Images

Board of trustees

Related Research Articles

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Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located in West Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The capital city is Muscat. Oman has a population of 5,492,196 and is ranked the 120th most populous country. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Oman</span> Aspect of history

Oman is the site of pre-historic human habitation, stretching back over 100,000 years. The region was impacted by powerful invaders, including other Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain. Oman once possessed the island of Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa as a colony. Oman also held Gwadar as a colony for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of Oman</span> Geographical features of Oman

Oman is a country on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula, situated in West Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman, and Persian Gulf, between Yemen and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The coast of Oman was an important part in the Omani empire and sultanate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscat</span> Capital and largest city of Oman

Muscat is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats, making it the largest city in the Arabian Peninsula by area. Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign tradesmen and settlers such as the Persians, Balochs and Sindhis. Since the ascension of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muscat and Oman</span> Former Arabian state from 1856 to 1970

The Sultanate of Muscat and Oman, also known briefly as the State of Muscat and Oman during the rule of Taimur bin Feisal, was a sovereign state that encompassed the present-day Sultanate of Oman and parts of present-day United Arab Emirates and Pakistan, in the second half of the 19th century and 20th century. Ruled by the Busaid dynasty, it was established as a result of the partition of the Omani Empire upon the death of its last ruler Said bin Sultan. The Sultanate transitioned into a new form of government after the palace coup of 23 July 1970 in which the sultan Said bin Taimur was immediately deposed in favor of his son Qaboos bin Said.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque</span> Mosque in the Sultanate of Oman

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque is the largest mosque in Oman, located in the capital city of Muscat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imamate of Oman</span> Historical region in eastern and central Oman

The Imamate of Oman was a historical state within the Oman proper in the present-day Al Hajar Mountains in Sultanate of Oman. The capital of the Imamate alternated historically between Rustaq and Nizwa. The Imamate's territory extended north to Ibri and south to Alsharqiyah region and the Sharqiya Sands. The Imamate was bounded from the east by the Al Hajar Mountains and from the west by the Rub' al Khali desert. The Al Hajar Mountains separated the Imamate of Oman from Muscat and Oman. The elected Imam (ruler) resided in the capital, and Walis (governors) represented the Imamate in its different regions.

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The Treaty of Seeb was an agreement reached between the sultan of Muscat, Taimur bin Feisal, and the Imamate of Oman on 25 September 1920. The treaty granted autonomy to the imamate in the interior of Oman but recognized the sovereignty of the Sultanate of Muscat. The treaty was named after Seeb (as-Sib), a coastal town in present-day Oman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al Jalali Fort</span> Fort in the harbor of Old Muscat, Oman.

Al Jalali Fort, or Ash Sharqiya Fort, is a fort in the harbor of Old Muscat, Oman. The fort was built by the Portuguese under Philip I of Portugal in the 1580s on an earlier Omani fortress to protect the harbor after Muscat had twice been sacked by Ottoman forces. It fell to Omani forces in 1650. During the civil wars between 1718 and 1747, the fort was twice captured by Persians who had been invited to assist one of the rival Imams. The fort was extensively rebuilt later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bayt al Falaj</span> Capital area suburb in Muscat Governorate, Oman

Bayt al Falaj is a village in Muscat, in northeastern Oman. It was the site of Muscat's airport and main operating base for the country's air force, prior to the opening of Muscat International Airport at Seeb in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jebel Akhdar War</span> 1950s rebellion in Oman

The Jebel Akhdar War or the Oman War, also known as Jebel Akhdar rebellion, broke out in 1954 and again in 1957 in Oman, as an effort by the local Omanis in the interior of Oman led by their elected Imam, Ghalib al-Hinai, to protect the Imamate of Oman from the occupation plans of sultan Said bin Taimur, backed by the British government, who were eager to gain access to the oil wells in the interior lands of Oman. Sultan Said received direct financing to raise an armed force to occupy the Imamate of Oman from Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), a consortium of oil companies that was majorly owned by what is known today as Royal Dutch Shell, Total, ExxonMobil and British Petroleum (BP); the latter was majority-owned by the British government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign Ministry (Oman)</span> Governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Finance (Oman)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bilarab Bin Haitham Award for Architectural Design</span> Award for architectural design in Oman

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References

  1. Hasan, Deeba (26 July 2016). "#OmanPride: National Museum of Oman all set to open". Times of Oman .
  2. Yule, P.‒Gernez, G. (eds.), Early Iron Age metal-working workshop in the Empty Quarter, Sultanate of Oman, Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie, 316, Bonn, 2018.
  3. "Adornment, Identity and Empowerment: Female Silversmiths in Southern Oman". 2021-06-10. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  4. "Lectures online". 2021-06-10. Archived from the original on 2021-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-10.
  5. y Pluse of Oman, 17 December 2015
  6. Sultanate of Oman, National Museum, Muscat, 2015
  7. Sultanate of Oman, National Museum, Muscat, 2015

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