Around the World in Jewellery
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Around the World in Jewellery

Exhibition

27 October - 26 December 2026

Exhibition Hours

Saturday to Thursday : 11 AM to 9 PM

Friday : 3:30 PM to 9 PM

Location
M7
Msheireb Downtown
Abdullah Bin Thani St, Doha, Qatar
E. contact@m7.org.qa

From 27 October to 26 December 2026, Qatar Museums (QM), in collaboration with L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, supported by Van Cleef & Arpels, presents Around the World in Jewellery, a landmark exhibition exploring jewellery as one of humanity’s most enduring expressions of cultural identity. On view at M7, the exhibition is the largest-ever presentation of jewellery from QM’s collections, complemented by a selection of remarkable creations from the Van Cleef & Arpels patrimonial collection.

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Around the World in Jewellery gathers more than 500 pieces of jewellery and art objects, including jewels, artworks, photographs, and sculptures from across cultures, geographies, and historical periods, some of which are being presented to the public for the first time. These pieces reflect the remarkable holdings of the National Collection of Qatar, the National Museum of Qatar, the Museum of Islamic Art, and the future Lusail Museum.

Curated by Inezita Gay-Eckel and Paul Paradis, art historians and lecturers at L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts, and designed by artist and designer Johanna Grawunder, the exhibition presents a sweeping narrative through objects that are deeply personal, social, and symbolic. It considers why people adorn themselves and what the objects reveal about the people who made, wore, exchanged, inherited, and preserved them.

The exhibition is structured around seven themes: Sea & Ocean, Nature, Cosmos, Body Adornment, Status, Customs & Ceremonies, and Protection. Together, these themes trace the many ways adornment has carried meaning across civilisations, illuminating the diverse roles jewellery has played in human experience.

Families are welcomed to a Children’s Piazza – a thoughtfully designed interactive space for young visitors aged four to ten – where learning and discovery are fostered through a rich array of engaging, playful activities. Running through the centre of the main exhibition and mirroring its core thematic structure, this is the first exhibition area at M7 dedicated to children.

Around the World in Jewellery
Presented by Qatar Museums in partnership with 

L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts supported by Van Cleef & Arpels. 

Additional exhibition support from Visit Qatar

Around the World in Jewelry

The “Patiala Sarpech” (Turban Ornament), Mughal period, c. 1880, Northern India

Gold, silver alloy, emeralds, spinels, mother of pearl, enamel, diamonds

Qatar Museums / Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

Photo by Randa Dalloul

This jewelled and enamelled turban ornament, also known as sarpech, was worn at the front of the turban as a visible marker of status in Mughal India.

Its form, extending across the head, draws attention to the wearer while also displaying the jeweller's skill in working gold, enamel, and precious stones.

Such ornaments became highly recognisable signs of rank, their scale and craftsmanship reinforcing the authority and prestige of those who wore them.

Around the World in Jewellery

Bronze Anklets, Lobi or Gan, date unknown, Burkina Faso

Bronze

Qatar Museums / National Collection of Qatar, Doha

Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov

These anklets come from Burkina Faso and are associated with the Lobi or Gan communities. Their main decorative motif is a gently curved snake. Among the Gan people, the snake represents Dibira, a mythical serpent believed to have guided the ancestors of a princely family to a place where they could settle. Seen as both a founding and protective figure, Dibira symbolises the spiritual forces believed to protect the community and the land.

Around the World in Jewelry

Akangitat Headdress, c. 20th century, Brazil

Feathers, fibre

Qatar Museums / National Collection of Qatar, Doha
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov

This headdress is made from colourful feathers and is traditionally worn by men in the Upper Xingu region of Brazil. Women also wear it during the Yamurikumã festival, which honours a powerful ancestral woman. During this ceremony, male and female roles are reversed, and women wear ornaments usually associated with men, including this headdress.

The arrangement of feathers highlights how colour and pattern are used to create striking designs, while also reflecting the cultural meanings carried through adornment.

Around the World in Jewelry

Lucien Gautrait, Art Nouveau Pearl European Hornet (vespa crabro) Brooch, c. 1900, France

Gold, pearl, diamond, enamel

Qatar Museums / National Collection of Qatar, Doha
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov

This composition centres on a baroque pearl, a natural pearl with an irregular shape which Gautrait reimagined into the paper cells of a hornet’s nest. Transparent enamel wings, created using the plique-à-jour technique, give the illusion of subtle movement. The pearl’s uneven surface echoes the layered structure of the nest. Inspired by insects commonly found in European gardens and forests, the work reflects the Art Nouveau fascination with the natural world and its forms.

Around the World in Jewellery

Miao Torque with Spirals, 20th century , Guangxi, China

Engraved silver

Qatar Museums / National Collection of Qatar, Doha
Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov

The Miao people inhabit principally the southwestern province of Guizhou, China. Silversmithing is one of the central pillars of their cultural identity and silver adornment is worn for festivals and weddings in great profusion, sometimes several kilos at a time. Observers of Miao festivities have spoken of seeing waves in a sea of silver. A bride’s silver jewellery constitutes an important part of her personal wealth and is passed down through generations. Due to the high cost of silver in some less affluent villages higher in the mountains, artisans use less costly alloys. Many of the ancestral techniques remain the same –casting, smelting, reverse hammering (repoussé), forging, engraving, etc.. Design motifs often feature flowers, auspicious animals, birds, frogs, and fish. This dramatic apron-like necklace is composed of six tiers, each terminating in dynamic spirals. The tiers are centred by a sun in mirror image on either side, flanked by dragons and fantastical creatures.

Around the World in Jewellery

Necklace, c. 20th century, Papua New Guinea

Cowrie shells, plaques of melo melo shells, resin-coated fibre choker, fibre

Qatar Museums / National Collection of Qatar, Doha

Photo by Dmitry Kostyukov

The design of this imposing bib necklace is created around nine graduated plaques of Melo Melo shells (a large gastropod) and a row of cowrie shells sewn around the fibre neckline. Papua New Guinea is the largest island on the earth after Greenland, home to more than 700 languages and a rich artistic heritage. The importance of shells in Oceania, a region composed of thousands of islands and atolls, is clearly visible here. Cowrie shells were commonly used as a form of money, possibly due to their portable size and difficulty counterfeiting. Larger, imposing shells like the Tridacna gigas (giant clam) and gastropods like the Melo melo require great skill to shape and, once transformed into adornment, communicate status and position in the community. Although the precise purpose of this necklace is not known, it is likely a ceremonial object of great prestige. The pinkish hue of the Melo Melo plaques (essentially the inside of the spiralled shell) recalls the colour of the flame effect associated with the extremely rare pearl produced by this creature. The value of the adornment is linked to a precise cultural context and notion of beauty.

Around the World in Jewelry

“Taqum lulu”, Parure, 20th century Qatar

Gold, red gemstones, green gemstones, pearls

Qatar Museums / National Museum of Qatar, Doha

Photo by Randa Dalloul

This traditional Qatari necklace, known as a Taqum lulu, is centred around a large radiating floral motif suspended from multiple rows of irregular pearls, interspersed with decorated gem-set spacers and arched terminals. Pearls are central to the piece, reflecting both Qatar’s pearling history and the importance of jewellery in family and social traditions. Their rarity and value also made them powerful symbols of wealth and status. This type of necklace is widely recognised across the Gulf region, though jewellers often introduced individual decorative details. Here, multicoloured gemstones arranged within the floral motifs bring richness, colour, and movement to the composition.