Just returned from throbbing Dubai, intrepid voyager
Heidi Heutel Bohn brings the inside tale (and autho-
rized images) of the famed but seldom seen
Dubai Pearl Museum. In fact, when our May 2008 guest
speaker, David Hampe, was here he said it was nearly
impossible to gain permission to visit the Dubai
Museum, which is located inside the Bank of Dubai.
Guided by its conservator, Bohn was able to access its
incredible storehouses of rare natural pearls, the treasury
of Eastern potentates. Reports Bohn: “I was nonplussed by
the traditional presentation of the pearls. Apparently pearls
can only be shown against a background of intense red
fabric. They were heaped in bowls lined with red velvet.”
Dubai, on the Persian Gulf, was long a capital of pearl
diving. To reclaim the prestige of this long historical asso-
ciation, it recently organized the first ever Dubai Pearl
Congress. Even though Islamic mores inveigh against
pearl culture, preferring the natural gem, the hope was to
make Dubai a world center of all pearl trade, natural and
cultured as well.
Though Dubai is growing rapidly into a cosmopolitan
hub of the Middle East, it is also concerned with the
maintenance of traditional values. We do not know
whether Heidi Heutel Bohn had to be veiled to travel that
city. Find out when Heidi shares her experiences at the
next meeting of The Pearl Society.
Please join us Sunday, May 31, 2009
3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
at the Eve J. Alfillé Gallery, 623 Grove St., Evanston
Refreshments will be served!
Please RSVP Now – space is limited
847-869-7920 or email: contact@evejewelry.com
Woooooow,
great necklace, It is really nice and great jewelery Item.
Posted by: silver bracelet | December 03, 2009 at 04:16 AM