A rapturous sweep of human history in 250 objects currently at Manarat Al Saadiyat in Abu Dhabi, Treasure's of the World's Cultures is a partnership between the British Museum and Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority. The exhibition features objects from across the globe and from prehistory to today. Here, we provide an in-depth look at three objects that caught our attention:
Birdman Boulder from Rapanui, Easter Island
Think Easter Island; think rows of head statues looking out to the South Pacific. These ominous visages were carved and erected by the Rapa Nui, a Polynesian people some scholars reckon settled on this once lush island as recently as 700-800 AD.
Today, Easter Island is largely barren - an example of radical deforestation and consequent societal collapse.
There are conflicting theories of how this happened. But this exquisitely carved boulder, depicting a half-man, half-bird creature, is testament to the dreams of Rapa Nui society as it fell into crisis.
Some archaeologists believe that Easter Island was once a thicket of fruit-bearing trees and awash with tasty wildlife. These giant carved heads were tributes to the spirits of the tribe's ancient ancestors, but demanded leverage to move them around and the Rapa Nui began chopping down trees en-masse.
The more they chopped, the scarcer resources became. As crops failed in poor soil, the villagers appealed to their ancestors for help by - you guessed it - raising more stone heads.
In the turmoil, a new belief started to develop: the birdman cult. Every year, the villagers would race to the top of a cliff to see who could retrieve the eggs of the sooty tern seabird first and be crowned master of the island's dwindling resources.
This boulder depicts the birdman. In this hybrid myth, we sense the tribe's yearning to fly away. They created a god that, unlike them, could escape the island.
As we deplete the world's resources and build monuments to our own power, this interpretation of the fate of early Rapa Nui society has a chilling significance.
Gold fish from the Oxus Treasure Takht-i Kuwad, Tajikistan
The glint of its gold body makes the fish seem pleasantly slimy. Looking down at its hammered and intricately decorated body, there's a feeling that it might slide from our hands if grasped too lightly. It seems imbued with vitality and not a mere ornament; its likely use as a means to carry liquids only emphasises this life-giving look.
But the best part of this stunning little fish is the long journey it has taken to get to Abu Dhabi. The piece is a rare and wonderful example of gold-working from the Achaemenid Empire, the furthest eastern spread of ancient Persian civilisation.
On the Oxus River, in modern day Tajikistan, this fish formed part of one of the world's greatest treasure troves, more than 170 objects carved by the Achaemenids around the fifth century BC.
The British Museum has it that in the 1880s, Captain FC Burton, a British political officer in Afghanistan, helped merchants escape from bandits who had hijacked their caravan on the road to Peshawar. They were carrying pieces recovered from the Oxus Treasure - gold scabbards, finger rings, a gilded model of a chariot. Captain Burton is said to have bought a gold armlet from them, which ended up in London's Victoria & Albert Museum, while other pieces from the treasure were later acquired for the museum from the bazaars of Rawalpindi, close to Islamabad.
Many of the great acquisitions of Europe's museums have a back story of colonial-era plunder, but the alleged tale of the Oxus Treasure is a little more chivalrous.
Head of a goddess, probably Aphrodite. Satala, Turkey
We have to imagine the way her eyes would have glittered because the precious stones have long since been snaffled. But there's life in the old girl yet - see how the sculpting of the mouth seems to quiver if we stare long enough? Exploring the totality of the face can reveal a whole raft of different emotions.
This head fragment was once part of a whole statue - probably Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love - but was recovered with only a well-worn arm in a farmer's field in the north-east of Turkey in 1877.
It is a fine example of just how far Greek aesthetics and Hellenistic culture as a whole spread throughout the ancient world. The British Museum believes that this may date from the Armenian Empire of Tigranes The Great, whose society prospered as he pushed the boundaries of the kingdom further.
Yet this bronze head really is a treasure because looking at it connects us with its own time. When we stare into those empty eye sockets, we don't feel so distant as we do looking at, for instance, the carvings of the Ancient Egyptian. Instead, there's some kinship, mutual understanding and feeling funnelling out through the annals of history. Aphrodite might be only a face but she's still got it, 2,000 years later.
Treasures of the World's Cultures continues at Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi until July 17. The exhibit is open daily, from 10am to 8pm. Entrance is free
clord@thenational.ae
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.
8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m
Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Going grey? A stylist's advice
If you’re going to go grey, a great style, well-cared for hair (in a sleek, classy style, like a bob), and a young spirit and attitude go a long way, says Maria Dowling, founder of the Maria Dowling Salon in Dubai.
It’s easier to go grey from a lighter colour, so you may want to do that first. And this is the time to try a shorter style, she advises. Then a stylist can introduce highlights, start lightening up the roots, and let it fade out. Once it’s entirely grey, a purple shampoo will prevent yellowing.
“Get professional help – there’s no other way to go around it,” she says. “And don’t just let it grow out because that looks really bad. Put effort into it: properly condition, straighten, get regular trims, make sure it’s glossy.”
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Pakistan Super League
Previous winners
2016 Islamabad United
2017 Peshawar Zalmi
2018 Islamabad United
2019 Quetta Gladiators
Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286
Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65
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Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
Company%20Profile
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Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now