RIYADH, 20 January — "The Arab horse has been associated with the great changes in civilization. It has carried warriors into battle, labored with man to build civilizations and carried messages between nations. It is a fitting symbol to associate with preserving and recording Saudi history and culture." Such was the view expressed by Prince Faisal ibn Abdullah, deputy head of the National Guard, during the celebrations to mark the launch of Furusiyya this week.
Culminating in a glittering opening ceremony at the King Abdul Aziz Library and Museum in Riyadh on Tuesday, Furusiyya is the result of nine years of hard work to catalogue the artifacts and literature stored in the Kingdom and in museums around the world celebrating the unique and deep relationship between horse and man in Arab culture. The catalogue itself, a beautifully produced and painstakingly researched two-volume work, was presented and a magnificent representational statue of the spirit of equestrianism, was unveiled to an appreciative gathering.
The project has been a labor of love and commitment by academics, equestrian experts, museum researchers, with the final printing and production of the catalogue being of standard to win Gotfried Gressel the European Printer of the Year award. Prince Faisal observed that we had not yet reached our goal, this catalogue and exhibition represents a very significant step on the journey toward recording Saudi culture and history.
Overseen and continuously supported by Prince Faisal who, as Dr. David Alexander, the project coordinator based at the King Abdul Aziz Public Library for two years described it, "adopted a vigorous, hands-on‚ approach with an eye for detail," Furusiyya brings together the many and varied aspects of equestrian art and science in Arab history. Now a world-class reference work and source for future researchers, the work is freely available to the public.
As a gesture of appreciation for the huge amount of dedication and commitment necessary to produce a work of this magnitude, Prince Faisal hosted this week a visit by some 30 of the Saudi and foreign academics and researchers involved in the Furusiyya project. Curators and specialists from The Metropolitan Museum of New York to the Hermitage in Moscow, the Louvre in Paris to The British Museum in London gathered to see the final result of their efforts and experience first hand -- some of the treasures and sights of Saudi Arabia. All Arabic specialists in range of esoteric areas of interest, for some this was the first visit to the Kingdom. True to his "hands-on style", Prince Faisal personally escorted and entertained the international guests with good humor, from traveling via Dir'aiya to Medain Saleh through colorful pageants and feasts to a close and interesting scrutiny of library and research facilities in Riyadh.
Exhausted but thrilled, the party returned to their institutions Thursday evening leaving behind a work of art and academic excellence that is sure to become a landmark in the recording of Saudi history for generations to come.
The exhibition, "Furusiyya," is open to the public at the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Riyadh for further two weeks.
