SHARJAH, Under the patronage of H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Sharjah Museums Authority (SMA), on Wednesday, inaugurated its “Drop by Drop Life Falls from the Sky. Water, Islam and Art” exhibition at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation.

Sheikh Khalid bin Issam Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department of Civil Aviation, Sharjah, inaugurated the exhibition in presence of Nicola Lener, Italian Ambassador to the UAE; Giuseppe Finocchiaro, Italian Consul-General in Dubai; Alberto Sacco, Deputy Mayor for Labour and Youth Employment Policies, Commerce, Tourism, and Legal Affairs of the City of Torino; Manal Ataya, Director-General of the SMA; Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi, Assistant Under-Secretary for Arts and Heritage Sector, Ministry of Culture and Youth; Ida Zilio-Grandi, Director of the Italian Cultural Institute – Embassy of Italy to the UAE; Giovanni Curatola, Professor at the University of Udine and curator of the exhibition at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation, and Dr Zaki Aslan, Director of ICCROM-Sharjah.

Organised in collaboration with the Italian Fondazione Torino Musei, the exhibition features 120 artefacts seen for the first time outside of Italy and are related to water and people’s daily lives in the Islamic world, including decorated jugs, cups, carpets, fountains and other exquisite items sourced from different parts of the Islamic world.

Running until 11th December, 2021, the exhibition was initiated with a manuscript containing the holy Quranic verse, “And we created every living thing from water”.

Collections on display are on loan from various renowned Italian public and private collections, and the permanent collection of the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilisation and from the Sharjah Art Museum.

Revolving around four themes: The Blessings of Water and Islam, Water and Daily Life, Traditional Hammam and the Gardens, the displayed items collectively illustrate the historical development of the numerous roles played by water in daily life and represent the artistic embodiment of it in the Arabic and Islamic arts and culture.

Source: Emirates News Agency