SYRIA: Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad opens exhibition of traditional Syrian jewellery at the National Museum of Damascus

Record ID: 279201

  • Title: SYRIA: Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad opens exhibition of traditional Syrian jewellery at the National Museum of Damascus
  • Date: 31st October 2007
  • Summary: BASSAM JAMOUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ANTIQUITY AND MUSEUMS, SPEAKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) BASSAM JAMOUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL OF ANTIQUITY AND MUSEUMS, SAYING: "It brings together a collection of jewels and its name is 'Sea of Jewels'. It brings together 150 pieces from the museum of Naples as well as 35 original pieces of discoveries found in archaeological sites
  • Embargoed: 15th November 2007 12:00
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  • Topics: Arts / Culture / Entertainment / Showbiz
  • Reuters ID: LVADRLETMVSQD6WI1MMTP275D8PW
  • Story Text: Syria's first lady Asma al-Assad opened an exhibition at the National Museum of Damascus on Monday (October 29) of ancient traditional jewellery discovered in Syria.
    The exhibition, organised by the National Museum of Damascus and the Italian Institute of Culture in Damascus, has on display a variety of traditional jewellery discovered at Syrian archaeological sites and jewels from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
    The exhibition also shows replicas of jewellery created in Borgo Orefici, the famous historic quarter of goldsmiths in Naples, whose work follows the secular tradition of the jewellers of the Court of the Kings in Naples and was inspired by handmade articles made of gold and precious stones found during excavations of Pompeii and Ercolano.

    "It brings together a collection of jewels and its name is 'Sea of Jewels'. It brings together 150 pieces from the museum of Naples as well as 35 original pieces of discoveries found in archaeological sites in Syria,"
    says Bassam Jamous, Director General of Antiquity and Museums.
    The exhibition boasts jewellery that dates back as far as the bronze age and early Islamic period. The precious stones and ornate lettering gives viewers an insight into the intricacies of ancient jewellery design.
    According to Gabriella Fortunato, Cultural Attaché to the Italian Embassy, the collection gives people a way of understanding history,
    "People, when they know their (jewels) history, they understand their advantages. They are the instruments through which we understand others," she says.
    The exhibition also gives an idea of how Syrian traders carried out transactions with the Greeks, Italians and Romans for centuries, something which probably required them to socially integrate themselves in the multicultural environments of Mediterranean trading centres.
    The collection will end on November 16, 2007. But, for those who miss it in it's entirety, some of the pieces will remain on display for longer.
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