05 December 2017
H.E Shaikha Mai Inaugurates In the Land of Dilmun, Where the Sun Rises” Exhibition At the State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg
In line with its strategy of mutual cultural exchange with countries in the region and across the world, The “In the Land of Dilmun, Where the Sun Rises” exhibition was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, 5 December, 2017, at the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, with the presence of H.E Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities, and a number of senior officials from the cultural and museums sector in the Russian Federation along with other diplomats and media figures. The exhibition displays historical objects from the Bahrain National Museum from the third to the first Millennium BCE .
Commenting on the importance of this exhibition, H.E Shaikha Mai said “ We are pleased today to share with the rest of the world the magic hidden treasures and archaeological artifacts of Dilmun civilization, that has existed and settled in Bahrain island thousands of years ago”. H.E added saying “ The inauguration of this exhibition at the State Hermitage Museum, one of the world's largest and most prestigious museums, is a clear indication of the crucial role played by culture in determining and showing our real identity, creating beautiful communication channels and bridges between peoples and civilizations”. H.E expressed her satisfaction and her sense of pride with regard to the advanced level of cultural cooperation between Bahrain Authority for Culture & Antiquities and the Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg, resulting in holding this exhibition titled “In the Land of Dilmun, Where the Sun Rises”.
“In the Land of Dilmun, Where the Sun Rises” exhibition features a series of Bahrain National Museum permanent collection and its core comprises over 150 items from the collection of the National Museum excavated over 60 years of archeological field works. The display is made up of five sections (“From myth to archaeological discovery”, “Dilmun and the horizons of international trade”, “Blessed is the land of Dilmun”, “A boundless sea of grave mounds” and “The hidden art of Dilmun”) that tell about the genesis and flourishing of the Dilmun civilization between the 3rd and 1st millennia BC. The exhibition presents the results of archaeological explorations of recent decades on the islands of Bahrain, which have been identified with the ancient land of Dilmun that is well-known from cuneiform sources. The exhibits, designed by the French archaeological designer Didier Blain – some of them going on public show for the first time – illustrate the centuries-long economic prosperity of the region and its cultural significance.
The exhibition also touches on mythology and the religious conceptions of the inhabitants of Dilmun – an attractive field of research that continues to intrigue scholars. Particular emphasis is placed on the production of the stamp seals that were extensively used in the region. The most distinctive feature of the culture of Dilmun was the special role that burial traditions played in it. Large areas on the north and west of Bahrain are occupied by burial mounds. For whole millennia Dilmun acted as a transit point for international trade accumulating all manner of goods from the Near and Middle East. In cuneiform texts of the 3rd and early 2nd millennia BC Dilmun is repeatedly mentioned in the context of the import of raw materials, above all copper, timber, dates, precious stones and “fish eyes” – pearls. The expansion of the scale of trade was, of course, a consequence of the high level of development of Dilmun society and the existence of a wide-reaching trade infrastructure. The organization of trading activities was accomplished with the aid of a complex method of weighing, valuing goods and keeping records, as well as the use of stamp seals.
Worth to mention that the State Hermitage Museum had previously hosted “Tylos, The Journey Beyond Life” exhibition, back in 2012. This exhibition “In the Land of Dilmun, Where the Sun Rises” will run until 11 March 2018 and will help support BACA’s efforts to showcase Bahrain’s exceptional and unique heritage in Russian and all over the world as part of “ Our Year of Archaeology 2017”.
