Sharjah 24: His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, inaugurated, Wednesday morning, at the House of Wisdom in Sharjah, the "Chapters from Islamic Art...a special collection of rare books from the Ettinghausen Library".

His Highness toured the exhibition, which houses 98 books that are part of a collection of rare books specialised in Islamic art and history, the product of the work of researchers Dr. Richard Ettinghausen and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth Ettinghausen, who are viewed among the most important experts and researchers in Islamic art in the world.

This precious collection is part of the books presented by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah to the House of Wisdom. It includes 12,000 books, some dating back 200 years. It also includes books in the fields of archeology, excavations, history, geography, religion, art and Islamic architecture, as well as literature, poetry, travel, and others.

The exhibition is divided into six sections: the Department of Books Published or Edited by Dr. Ettinghausen, the Department of Archeology, Travel, History and Geography, the Department of Religion, Islamic Art and Architecture, the Department of Large Books on Various Subjects, the Department of Literature, Poetry, Manuscripts, Fossils and Stone Inscriptions, in addition to a section dedicated to Ceramic and metal artwork, textiles, carpets, and rugs decorated with Islamic paintings.

The exhibition brings to light the richness of the book collection that represents the private library of historian Ettinghausen and his wife, Dr. Elizabeth, and includes books in more than 10 languages, including Arabic, English, German, Persian, Japanese, Urdu, French, Spanish, Turkish, Russian and Italian.

His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah listened to an explanation about the project of digitising this valuable collection, starting with the 98 books housed by the exhibition, in order to provide an opportunity for researchers and those interested around the world to benefit from them to achieve his vision of making knowledge available to all, and to enhance the contribution of the Emirate of Sharjah in spreading culture and science.

His Highness was briefed on the non-displayed literature publications from the entire collection, which were preserved in the “Wisdom Vault”, dedicated to preserving rare books. His Highness was also acquainted with the mechanisms for protecting and preserving manuscripts and books, and the level of specialised preservation provided by the vault in terms of temperature, light and appropriate level of humidity that prevents paper damage.

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of the International Publishers Association (IPA); Sheikh Salem Khalid Al Qassimi, UAE’s Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Youth;  Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the UNESCO; Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Owais, Chairman of the Department of Culture in Sharjah; and Dr. Abdul Aziz Al Musallam, Chairman of the Sharjah Institute for Heritage, were present during the inauguration.