On behalf of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner opened Tuesday the “Roads of Arabia: Archeology and History of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” exhibition at the Louvre Museum. The two ministers toured the exhibition that opens to the public Wednesday and continues for two months. The two were briefed on the antiquities on display by Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) for Antiquities and Museums, Dr. Ali Bin Ibrahim Al-Ghabban. Prince Saud said that the exhibition highlights the cultural cooperation between the two countries. “The exhibition sheds light on civilizations that cover long historic periods in the Arabian Peninsula from the Stone Age to the modern Saudi era,” Prince Saud said. He expressed thanks and appreciation to the government and people of France for the invitation to hold the exhibition in the largest museum in the world. The exhibition comprises works that “have never been seen not just in the West, but for the most part not in Saudi Arabia,” Beatrice Andre-Salvani, director of the department of Near Eastern Antiquities at the Louvre, was quoted as saying by a news agency. The show is the outcome of a 2004 accord between the Louvre and SCTA. It will present around 320 pieces, of which two-thirds predate the birth of Islam in the early 7th century. The works, which will be shown at the Louvre until September 27, come mainly from the collections of the National Museum in Riyadh, the Archeological Museum at the University of King Saud and regional museums. “They reveal in particular the little-known past of a dazzling, prosperous Arabic world now being gradually discovered by archeologists,” the Louvre website said. The exhibition, which also highlights the country's role as the cradle of Islam, showcases a gold-plated door of the Ka'ba. The door was replaced around 1940 but kept by the Riyadh Museum. The final part of the exhibition is devoted to late King Abdul Aziz, the founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. His greatcoat and his sword are on display.
