Saudi museum brings together over 60,000 items in home-like atmosphere

Photo via Asharq Alawsat

Published 11 Dec,2020 via Asharq Alawsat (English Edition) - Distinguished by unconventional display of its rare collections and exhibits, the Museum of Home Art has been drawing visitors to the Saudi city of Jeddah for more than 20 years.

Asharq Al-Awsat toured the museum, which is home to many items that reflect Jeddah's cultural ancient heritage, from furniture to clothes and antiques.

The late Abdul Raouf Hassan Khalil, who founded the museum, was distinguished by his deep knowledge and passion for heritage and became a reference for Jeddah’s heritage until the day he passed away in 2008.

At the entrance, visitors are received at the exterior square, with its intricately designed stone and clay sculptures on the sides of the square. In the middle lie the replicas of the Two Holy Mosques and replicas of other ancient famous archaeological sites in Jeddah, all of which are marked by their distinctive Arab-Islamic character.

The museum has two floors, each of which floor contains antiques, replicas, and furniture from as far back as 70 years ago, as well as items dating back to the seventh century and the Stone and Bronze ages collected by the owner of the museum.

It is also home to the Holy Kaaba’s first kaswa (cloth covering the Kaaba), which dates back over 100 years, a variety of salons and council rooms replicating those of the Andalusian, Islamic and European civilizations.

Youssef Keeki, who manages the museum, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the museum came to be called the Museum of Home Art, “because it is home to exemplary homes and palaces of many Western and Eastern societies and interior designs for varied tastes."

He adds that "Abdul Raouf Khalil spent more than 45 years collecting and monitoring the museum which was launched to the public in 1999."

Many foreign tourists and locals flock to it annually, and it has become a place for admirers of decorative arts and furniture, as well as a site frequented by architecture and archeology students who study and attend lectures at the museum.

For her part, Faiza Al-Zahrani, the museum's guide, explains that “the museum contains replicas of paintings by French orientalists, such as Delacroix’s Women of Algier, plastic arts by international Lebanese artists, and the paintings by some of Saudi Arabia’s most famous artists, such as Fawzia Abdel-Latif and Ahmed Al-Maghlouth.

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