World Museums

The objects are exhibited in the following order:

The gulf countries: Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the Yemen.The exibited objects include jewellery, costumes and textiles of these countries. This is followed by a detailed display of folk jewellery of other near and Middle Eastern countries and also of India, Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan.

The collection is particularly rich in Syrian and Palestinian costumes, while its folk jewellery is perhaps one of the richest and largest in the world.

In both sections of the museum there are large numbers of swords, daggers, some old Islamic fire-arms and gun-powder holders.

Likewise, an outstanding collection of musical instruments from almost every part of the Oriental world are exhibited.

There is a special collection of jewellery, which once, so it is claimed, belonged to the last Emir of Bukhara.

The Living Art Museum

The Living Art Museum owns a very large collection of art and source material, donated by members of the Living Art Museum Association and others. When the museum was founded, a provision was incorporated in its Organization Charter, stipulating that its members would donate one work upon joining the Association and subsequently every few years. These provisions have not been strictly observed, as it soon became evident that storage space, as well as funds for the preservation and maintenance of the art collection were insufficient. Furthermore, one of the main objectives of the Living Art Museum, that of collecting contemporary art, has encouraged the official/state-owned art museums to pay more attention to contemporary art. Nevertheless, the Living Art Museum owns a fairly extensive art collection and has succeeded in preserving a unique part of Iceland's art history. For example, the Museum owns the largest artists books collection in the country, one of the world's largest collections of the work of German-Swiss artist Dieter Roth, as well as works by most members of the SÚM Group, Jón Gunnar Árnason, Magnús Pálsson, Hreinn Friðfinnsson, the brothers Sigurður Guðmundsson and Kristján Guðmundsson, Róska, Arnar Herbertsson, Magnús Tómasson, Gylfi GIacute;slason, Sigurjón Jóhannsson, Hildur Hákonardóttir and Guðbergur Bergsson.

The Museum owns works by many of the nation's best-known younger artists and the collection is growing steadily. The collection also includes works by some 50 foreign artists, such as Joseph Beuys, Pieter Holstein, Richard Hamilton, Dorothy Iannone, Jan Voss, Wolf Vostell, Douwe Jan Bakker, Emmet Williams, Robert Filiou, Nini Tang, Peter Angermann, John Armleder, Geoffrey Hendriks, Jan Knap, Alan Johnston, Peter Mönning, Bengt Adlers and Franz Graf.

All works of art in the Museum's possession are selected by the artists themselves and not by specialists of art institutions. A catalogue of the art collection of the Living Art Museum is accessible on a digital database.

The Prince of Wales Museum of West India

In the early years of the twentieth century, some prominent citizens of Bombay decided to set up a Museum with the help of the government to commemorate the visit of the Prince of Wales. One of the resolutions of the committee at its meeting on June 22, 1904 was, "The building should have a handsome and noble structure befitting the site selected, and in keeping with the best style of local architecture."

The committee spared no effort to realize this dream. On March 1, 1907, the then government of Bombay handed over to the museum committee a spot of land known as the "Crescent Site", situated at the southern end of the present Mahatma Gandhi Road. After an open competition for the design, George Wittet was commissioned to design the Museum building in 1909. George Wittet had collaborated with John Begg in the construction of the General Post Office building. His other works in Bombay include the Court of Small Causes and the magnificent Gateway of India.

The National Museum of History (Brazil)

The National Museum of History, pertaining to the Ministry of Culture, created in 1922, is one of the most important museums in Brazil with 287.000 items that include the largest numismatic collection in Latin America.

The architectural complex where the museum is situated had its origin in the Santiago Fort, located at the former Calaboose Point, one of the strategic points for the defense of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

The National Gallery of Canada

The National Gallery of Canada, a visual arts museum of international stature, holds its collections of art in trust for all Canadians. The mandate of the National gallery, as set out in the 1990 Museums Act is: to develop, maintain and make known, throughout Canada and internationally, a national collection of works of art, historic and contemporary, with special but not exclusive reference to Canada; and to further knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of art in general among all Canadians.

The Museum of Moroccan ArtsThe imposing silhouette of the Dar el Makhzen dominates the Tangier kasbah.

Formerly the governor's palace, it was built in the XVIIth century and is laid out around a splendid patio decorated with enamelled faience.