Orientalist Collections in the Middle East. Taste as Knowledge and Shifting Narratives

This paper seeks to question the potentialities of private collections of 19th century European art located in the Middle East in the recontextualisation of Orientalism. By focusing on the collections of Shafik Gabr in Egypt and Sultan bin Muhammad el-Qasimi in the United Arab Emirates, it investigates how the migration of Orientalist artworks from Europe to the spaces they allegedly represent may generate new art historical narratives. Firstly, it examines the ways these shifting narratives can change the value and meaning of the collections by challenging the canonic postcolonial discourse of Orientalism