Do you know where the Dubai Pearl Museum is
Many visitors and residents of Dubai are aware of the Dubai Museum in Bur Dubai, but did you know a little bit further in Deira is an immaculate collection of Dubai pearls housed in a permanent museum type display on the top floor of Emirates NBD bank ?
What’s the Dubai Pearl Museum about
I visited the Dubai Pearl Museum as part of a larger group and found it informative and insightful. The informal tour begins with a short (10 minute) dvd explaining the fascinating history of pearling in the UAE, the lives of the workers who dived for pearls and how they prepared for the long, difficult voyages as well as explaining the growth of a natural pearl in an oyster.
Where did the pearls come from for the Dubai Pearl Museum
There is a semi guided walk around the Dubai Pearl Museum displaying literally thousands of pearls most of which were donated by Sultan Al Owis whose father, a pearl trader, started off this prolific collection.
Apparently pearls are best displayed on a red background to show their lustre and indeed all the displays are against a red velvet background. As well as the pearls themselves there is a collection of the real instruments and tools required for extracting and sorting the pearls, I found the collection of different sized brass sieves fascinating.
Pearling was a unique tradition for a whole community in the UAE that touched all facets of life. There is also a display of the earliest currency used in this part of the world.
The exhibition is a wonderful and unique way of preserving a piece of history and heritage that is too easily forgotten in modern Dubai.
Visit the pearl museum for a glimpse of the real Old Dubai. I highly recommend it. Click here for what you NEED TO KNOW to make a visit to the Dubai Pearl Museum and Thanks for liking DoinDubai.com on Facebook.
UPDATED 20th NOVEMBER 2013
And if you happen to be in London between September and January, do check out this gorgeous exhibition held jointly with the V and A and the Qatar Museums Authority. Check the link to read about Pearl fishing in the Gulf.
Thanks Monica.
Hi Monica,
Many thanks for sending those photos and for replying so quickly. Though I haven’t been to Dubai for quite a while I’ll keep an eye on your blog … some of our friends are living there at the moment. Best wishes to you. Fran franwork.wordpress.com
My pleasure Fran, I will look to see if I have any more photos, have a new camera now so photos are better. The Pearl Museum is not that well advertised but well worth a visit for residents and tourists alike. Thanks for liking the post and blog,
kindest regards
Monica http://www.doindubai.com
So glad to find this post. My partner (Matthew Higgins of Higgins Gardner & Partners) and I designed this museum and we love to discover feedback of any kind. Many thanks for posting, and if you have any other photos we would be very grateful. I did the graphics and background research and he is an architect and so designed the thematic plan and all the showcases and interiors. We completed the project some time ago and so it is wonderful to know that visitors are still using the museum and connecting with the important heritage of the UAE. Many thanks, once again.
Fran Osborne