ABSTRACT
The Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani Museum was opened to the public in 1998 in a purpose-built building 22 km from Doha, Qatar. It displays the private collection of Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim Al Thani, a close relative of the Father Emir, of around 15,000 objects including vintage cars, toys, archaeological material, costumes, numismatics, weapons, fine and decorative art and Arabic manuscripts. The collection consists of personal possessions of Sheikh Faisal and his relatives, as well as objects actively collected throughout his lifetime, and objects recommended and purchased by Sheikh Faisal's agents. This chapter argues that this framing of the collection as a national heritage resource relating to Qatari national identity, while situating it within Qatar's emerging national heritage discourse, does not do justice to the significance of the collection within its local cultural and historical context.
