NAZWA-STYLE COFFEE POT (DALLAH NAZWANIYYAH)

Made by Khalfan bin Rashid as-Sabahi
Nazwa (ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate)
Silver, with leather-wrapped handle
1394 AH/1974 CE (Sultanate of Oman)

The silver market (suq) in Nazwa is renowned as a centre for the making of one of Oman’s most important cultural icons – the coffee pot (dallah).
The classic Nazwa-style coffee pot is characterized by a very narrow waist, a gracefully arched handle and a long, emphatically curved spout, and has an inherent elegance of form that renders even the simplest version an object of beauty in its own right.

DHOFARI-STYLE DAGGER (JANB?YYAH)

Oman (Dhofar Governorate)
14th century AH/20th century CE
Silver, rhinoceros horn, steel, leather and wood

COMMUNAL SERVING TRAY

Northern Oman
Copper
14th century AH/mid- to late-20th century CE

INCENSE BURNER (MIJMAR)

Lima (Musandam Governorate) Earthenware with red iron oxide 14th century AH/20th century CE

WOODEN STORAGE CHEST (MANDŪS/SANDŪQ)

Probably India Wood, with brass decoration 13th–14th centuries AH/19th–20th centuries CE (Sultunate of Muscat and Oman) This is a ‘Bombay’-style chest, most probably made in India. While the mandūs has been made in Oman for centuries, the majority of chests found throughout the country came through trading and were produced elsewhere. Many chests were produced by artisans living in the former Omani territories of Gwadur, Lamu, Pate or Zanzibar, or made to commission in other parts of the Middle East or the Indian subcontinent

WATER JAR (JAHLAH)

Buhla (ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate) Unglazed earthenware 14th century AH/late-20th century CE (Sultanate of Oman)

DAGGER (KHANJAR SA’ĪDI)

Belonging to Sultan Sayyid Humūd bin Muhammad al-Busaidi Horn, steel, silver, gold thread, Leather, wood and fabric 13th century AH/late 19th century CE

STORAGE JAR (KHARS)

Northern Oman Unglazed earthenware 14th century AH/20th century CE

DAGGER (KHANJAR SA’īDI)

Belonging to Sultan Sayyid Turki bin Said al-Busaidi 

LIDDED STORAGE BASKET (FĀTIYYAH)

Central Oman Desert palm and goat leather 14th century AH/mid- to late-20th century CE Circular lidded baskets (fātiyyah) are produced from finely-split desert palm fibre, using the coil method, and are often decorated with interwoven leather stripping and fringing. Small versions of the fātiyyah are used for storing a woman’s jewellery, cosmetics, incense and other valued possessions. In settled communities, larger versions of the fātiyyah serve as basic storage containers for clothing and household goods.

TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF NORTHERN OMAN(COASTAL PLAIN)

Headshawl (laysu/waqayah) East Africa (kanga), Northern Oman (fringe) Cotton cloth, with fringe of cotton threads and metallic filament 15th century AH/early 21st century CE The northern Omani custom of wearing of headshawls made from Swahili kangas arises from long-standing connections with east and central Africa. The kanga is a rectangle of pure cotton cloth, imprinted with bold designs and bordered with a message in Swahili, Arabic or English. It is the message which gives the kanga its special appeal, providing the wearer with a means of personal, social, religious and even political expression. For this reason, it is sometimes referred to as ‘the cloth that speaks’. The translation of the inscription twawaobea mazuri daima on the kanga shown above is ‘we will always pray for them’.

FOREFINGER RINGS (SHĀHID)

Northern Oman Silver 14th century AH/mid-20th century CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF NORTHERN OMAN

(MOUNTAINS)Cloak (mansul)Made by Ali bin Hamad al-KindiBuhla (ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate)
Pit-loomed black wool with cotton embroidery
14th century AH/late-20th century CE (Sultanate of Oman)

TRADITIONAL COSTUME OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN OMAN (DESERT)

Desert robe (dishdashah)Eastern OmanWarss-dyed
unbleached cotton
15th century AH/early 21st century CE 

In keeping with the Bedouin requirement for practicality, the desert tunic or robe (dishdashah) has been dyed with a mixture of vegetable oil, cloves, cardamom pods and warss – an oil-soluble plant pigment derived from the leaves and stems of Memecylon tinctorium. The warss pigment gives the tunic its characteristic deep yellow colour, while the oil acts as a barrier against dust and perspiration, and infuses the fabric with a long-lasting, spicy scent.

SAND SOCKS (ZARBŪL) Central Oman Knitted goat hair 15th century AH/early 21st century CE

Thick ‘sand socks’ of knitted wool or goat-hair are worn in the desert during the summer months to protect the feet from scorching sand, scorpions, snakes and thorns. Sand socks are also worn in winter as a barrier against the cold. Wilfred Thesiger, recounting details of his travels in Oman between 1945 and 1950, wrote: Beneath my feet the gritty sand was as cold as frozen snow, and described the consequences when the use of sand socks was forsaken: Usually, when they are in the Sands during the winter or summer, Arabs wear socks knitted from coarse black hair. None of us owned these socks and our heels were already cracking from the cold. Later, these cracks became deeper and very painful.

DRESS (THAWB)

Dhofar Governorate
Indigo-dyed cotton with embroidery and silver
14th century AH/late-20th century CE 

The definitive article of clothing for Dhofari women is the thawb, a loose-fitting robe which is short at the front, reaching to just below the knee, and has a long train at the back. According to local legend, the purpose of the train is to erase the footprints of the wearer as she walks. Long after the woman has passed, however, the scent of incense (bukhur) will linger, the thawb being permeated with the perfumed smoke prior to being worn.

OMANI DAGGER (KHANJAR)

Northern OmanSilver and gilded silver
rhinoceros horn and steel with silver-embroidered cloth belt
13th century AH/19th century CE 

This khanjar, made in northern Oman, belonged to an Omani merchant who settled on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, in the 13th century AH/19th century CE.

PEN BOX

Northern Oman Copper alloy Probably 12th century AH/18th century CE (al-Yarubi or al-Busaid Dynasty)

HEADDRESS WITH PENDANTS (NASAL/MASHL AR-R?S)

Northern Oman Silver 14th century AH/20th century CE

NECKLACE AND HIRZ PENDANT

Northern Oman Silver, gold-leaf, glass beads and Maria Theresa thalers 13th–14th centuries AH/19th–20th centuries CE

NECKLACE WITH CENTRAL DISC (SAMT) NORTHERN OMAN SILVER

Maria Theresa thaler coins
coral and glass amulets
14th century AH/20th century CE 

This samt necklace was worn as an article of adornment and for protection from evil and misfortune. The large central disc that forms the centre piece of this amuletic necklace is made of hammered and incised silver. Its style of decoration is characteristic of Nazwa, Buhla and other silver suqs of the interior. This necklace includes ten Maria Theresa thaler coins, which bear a 1780 CE date, but were minted much later.

DAGGER (SURI TYPE)

Northern Oman Ivory, wood, gold and silver threads embroidery, silver, leather and steel 13th century AH/19th century CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

DAGGER (KHANJAR)

al-Wasit (al-Batinah North Governorate) Copper-alloy 1,400–1,200 BCE (Iron Age) Nazwa (ad-Dakhiliyah Governorate) Copper-alloy 1,400–1,200 BCE (Iron Age) Samad ash-Shan (ash-Sharqiyah North Governorate) Iron 300 BCE–400 CE (Samad Period)

SA’ĪDI-STYLE DAGGER (SA’ĪDI KHANJAR) Northern Oman Steel, wood, silver, horn, leather and felt 13th–14th centuries AH/19th–20th centuries CE

This sa’īdi-style khanjar, named after the royal house of al-Busaid, is characterised by a pommel-shaped hilt and seven-ringed construction. It features a rhinoceros horn hilt and a silver-embroidered leather belt with a cast silver buckle. A cartridge-shaped tweezer set is affixed to the belt and an auxiliary knife is fitted into a leather sheath on the back of the scabbard. The decoration on the hilt and scabbard of the khanjar include chased, stamped and applied work, filigree and granulation.

STRAIGHT DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD (SAIF)

Oman (decoration); Iran (blade) Steel, iron, leather, wood and silver 9th–13th centuries AH/15th–19th centuries CE (Kingdom of Hormuz, al-Yarubi or al-Busaid Dynasty)

CURVED SINGLE-EDGED SWORD (KITTĀRAH)

Oman (decoration); Caucasus (blade) Steel, leather, wood and silver 13th century AH/19th century CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

Four-cornered fasteners Parrying shields (at-turs)

Four-cornered fasteners The parrying shield (at-turs) typically features two to six brass fasteners, the design of which is based on a four-cornered motif. Beyond their decorative and practical function as a means of attaching the grip, these fasteners have an important strategic purpose; positioned against the convex side of a shield, they are used to catch the blade of an opponent and disarm him with a twist of the wrist. Parrying shields (at-turs) Oman or Africa Rhinoceros or hippopotamus hide, brass, goat leather and coiled desert palm fibre (al-qadaf) 13th–14th c AH/19th–20th c CE (al-Busaid Dynasty) Palm fibre shield donated by Marcia Dorr.

BATTLE AXES

Diba (Musandam Governorate) Bronze 1,200–1,000 BCE (Iron Age)

BOAT-SHAPED INCENSE BURNER WITH THREE RECEPTACLES (MIJMAR)

Salalah (Dhofar Governorate) Earthenware, with red and brown pigments 14th century AH/early to mid 20th century CE

NECKLACE WITH CENTRAL DISK (SAMT) INSCRIBED WITH ‘ĀYAT AL-KURSĪ

Northern Oman Silver 13th–14th centuries AH/19th–20th centuries CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

GUNPOWDER HORN (TALĀHĪQ) Northern Oman Gilded silver 1210 AH/1796 CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

This gunpowder horn was designed to fill the powder pan of a matchlock gun. The large decorative top was made to be removable to fill the horn, and the gunpowder was released at the narrow end by operating the lever along the inner curve. The horn is made of silver, which has been layered with gold, and it is decorated with stamped and chased work. A poem inscribed on the side of the horn reads: If death is inevitable Then it is shameful to die a coward

PEN BOX WITH SPOON

Maker: Muhammad bin Khamis an-Nazwi Copper alloy 22 Jumada al-Ula 1323 AH/July 1905 CE (Sultanate of Muscat and Oman)

OBJECTS OF UTILITY AND ADORNMENT

Northern Oman Silver 13th–14th centuries AH/19th–20th centuries CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

AMULETS (AT-TASWĪRAH) Northern Oman Silver 14th century AH/20th century CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

A taswīrah is a special kind of good luck charm or amulet in the form of a human being. It always has feet, and sometimes has legs or arms, but it never has a head. Instead, there is a ring at the top so the taswīrah can be hung on a string or a chain and worn as a necklace. In the past, at-taswīrah necklaces were worn by children for protection from evil and misfortune.

SILVER DISC WITH JINNĪ FIGURES Northern Oman Silver 14th century AH/20th century CE (al-Busaid Dynasty)

Silver discs like these were worn on necklaces for protection from evil spirits. The tiny figures drawn on the back of the discs represent a captured female spirit or jinnī. The chains or ropes around her ankles are a warning to all evil spirits to keep away from the wearer of the disc.