Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah (DAI), is a cultural institution incorporating the private collection of Islamic art, actively being formed by Sheikh Nasser Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, with his wife Sheikha Hussah Sabah al-Salem al-Sabah since mid-1970s. Currently, it embraces over 30,000 objects of art covering the region extending from Spain to China, from the 1st to the 14th century AH/7th to the l9th century AD. The collection is on a long-term loan to the State of Kuwait since 1983.Under the auspices of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah hosts a series of public lectures and seminars given by internationally renowned scholars, as well as art courses, archaeological field trips, musical concerts and audio-visual programs to enhance public awareness and appreciation of Islamic art history. Additionally, DAI

publishes catalogues covering the full range of the collection, as well as other areas of knowledge, a bi-monthly newsletter, Bareed ad-Dar and a quarterly journal, Hadeeth ad-Dar.

At present, the collection is not on display to the public. Under the patronage of the Ministry of Information, the UNESCO is working with a local team on rehabilitating the Kuwait National Museum buildings, which is scheduled for completion in 2008. In the meantime, traveling exhibitions from the DAI collection are hosted in some of the most prominent museums in the world.