Western Arabia in the Leiden collections
Subtitle: traces of a colourful past
By: Luitgard Mols
Contributors: Vrolijk, Arnoud, author; Museum Volkenkunde (Leiden, Netherlands); Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. Bibliotheek
Publisher: Leiden University Press
Published: 2016
Place of publication: Leiden
Language: eng
Number of pages: 192
ISBN-13: 9789400602557
Copyright date: 2016
Subjects: Civilization; Social life and customs; Religious life and customs; Arabs; Material culture; Clothing; Ethnology; Arabic Manuscripts; Muslim pilgrims and pilgrimages in art; Ethnological museums and collections; Museum Volkenkunde (Leiden, Netherlands); Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden. Bibliotheek; Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden
Description: In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Dutch diplomats, scholars and travellers assembled unique collections in Jeddah, Mecca and Medina. The Dutch presence in Arabia, where they established a consulate in Jeddah, was intimately connected with the supervision of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca from the Netherlands East Indies, present-day Indonesia. Notable guests at this consulate included the formidable Dutch Islamicist Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, visiting Arabia in 1884-1885. With the invaluable help of local Muslims, Dutch collectors tried to capture the essence of what they regarded as an 'authentic' Oriental culture in a period when Arabia was already looking towards modernity. These extensive collections are now preserved at the Leiden Museum of Ethnology (Museum Volkenkunde, est. 1837) and Leiden University (founded 1575). Together, they allow a glimpse into a colourful and vibrant society, one virtually vanished today under ever-growing numbers of pilgrims, changing political and religious allegiances and sudden economic prosperity. 0.
Notes: "This book is published in association with Leiden University Libraries and Museum Volkenkunde (Museum of Ethnology)k Leiden, and is made possible through a grant from Aramco, Dhahran, Saudia Arabia."--Colophon.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 184-189) and index.