Cairo – The Egyptian Royal Jewellery Museum was reopened in Alexandria by the first lady of the country, Suzanne Mubarak, after a full restoration of the Fatma Haider Palace, built in 1920. It is located in the historical neighbourhood of Zizinia. The reform of the site, built in an area of 4,185 square metres, cost 50 million Egyptian pounds (US$ 9 million).
The museum is comprised of two palaces linked together by a corridor. It houses 1,000 items selected among the 11,500 jewels that once belonged to the Egyptian royal family, and are now held in safes at the country’s Central Bank. The items on display in the 13 rooms of the museum are not solely jewellery, though. Among them are paintings that depict the royal family and other precious items, such as necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets that belonged to family members during their reign, up until the revolution of 1952.
Originally, the museum belonged to princess Fatma Haider, a descendent from Mohamed Ali Pacha, founder of the Alaouite Dynasty. Mohamed Ali, commander of the Ottoman army, of Albanese origin, but born in Macedonia, seized power in Egypt in the early 19th century.
The palace started being built in 1919 by Zenab Hanem Fahmi, Fatma’s mother. “Princess Fatma, who lost her mother prematurely, when she was just 18, asked the famous Italian architect Antonio Lashic to proceed with the building of the palace. This certainly influenced the style, by which several ceilings and walls are decorated with motifs that represent Roman legends,” said Suzanne Kamed, inspector at the museum.
The palace is considered a work of art, architecturally speaking. “This surely explains why it was selected to host the Royal Jewellery Museum, more than forty years after the site was nationalized,” said Suzanne.
The setting of the exhibition is in keeping with the original function of the location, i.e. the home of the princess. According to Suzanne Kamel, at the entrance, where the palace residents used to receive their friends and acquaintances, visitors can now view several paintings portraying the royal family members, especially Mohamed Ali Pacha and Khediva Ismail, who were relatives of the owner.
Also featured are portraits of Ali Haider Pacha and Zenab Hanem Fahmi, Fatma’s parents, and of the princess herself. Further ahead are the crowns of princess Chewikar, the first wife of king Fuad, who reigned from 1922 to 1936, and the one that belonged to queen Farida, the first wife of king Farouk, Egypt’s last king.
On display down the corridor are several medals and decorations awarded to royal family members for their accomplishments. Next, visitors enter a series of halls in which jewels incrusted with precious stones that belonged to several princesses are showcased, as well as small boxes and cigarette cases once owned by the family’s various princes.
According to Suzanne Kamel, the site, whose ceiling portrays several legendary scenes that were virtually destroyed, has been restored by a team that worker over a long period of time.
The second storey of the palace comprises the bedrooms and a dining room. The latter features an infinity of silverware made of gold incrusted with precious stones, such as diamonds, rubies, topazes and turquoises.
A previously unseen item is the cocktail set that king Farouk gave to queen Farida as a wedding gift. The set weighs six kilograms and consists of four crystal bottles and a golden one, shown delicately at the centre of the room.
One of the most impressive places in the second storey, however, is the palace’s main bathing room. It features colourful murals depicting leisurely scenes by the sea and children playing. All of the items are made out of Italian marble.
The second storey also has three other rooms, among them an office in which there is a inkstand sculpted in the shape of the Qasr El Nil bridge, in Cairo, and which was presented to king Fuad on the occasion of the renewal of his kingship. The second room houses many other commemorative medals.
It is the third room, though, that houses one of the most impressive items in the entire place. It is a chess set incrusted with diamonds that was offered by the shah Mohamed Reza Pahlevi, of Iran, on the occasion of his wedding to princess Fawizia, the sister of king Farouk.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
