Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani
{{Short description|Qatari prince}}
File:BPFILARDO Sheikh Saud Al Thani 2002.jpg
Saud bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani (28 February 1966 – 9 November 2014){{cite news|last=Vitello|first=Paul|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/arts/design/saud-bin-mohammed-al-thani-art-collector-for-qatar-is-dead.html|title=Saud bin Mohammed al-Thani, Big-Spending Art Collector, Is Dead|newspaper=New York Times|date=November 17, 2014|accessdate=November 18, 2014}} was a Qatari prince{{cite news |title=Qatari prince denies poaching |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/308977.stm |work=BBC News |date=31 March 1999 |accessdate=20 June 2009 }} who served as minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
By the turn of the 21st century, Shaikh Sa’ud had established an international reputation as an avid art collector, both for his own collection as well as those of several state-owned museums he oversaw in Qatar.{{cite news | title=Qatar's official art buyer is out of the picture | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/09/world/africa/09iht-sheik.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=March%209,%202005%20qatar&st=cse |work=The New York Times |date=10 March 2005 |accessdate=20 June 2009 | first=Alan | last=Riding}}
Activity
= Culture and art =
As Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage{{cite news|title=Cultural agreement between Qatar, Sudan |url=http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030106/2003010613.html |work=Arabic News |date=1 June 2003 |accessdate=20 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20050819130339/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030106/2003010613.html |archivedate= August 19, 2005 }} from 1997, he was entrusted with creating the collections to fill an ambitious program of world-class museums in Qatar, including a Museum of Islamic Art a combined Qatar National Library and Natural History Museum, a Museum of Photography,[http://britishphotohistory.ning.com/profiles/blogs/death-of-sheikh-saud-bin-mohammed-al-thani-aged-48 Death of Sheikh Saud bin Mohammed Al-Thani, aged 48] Posted by Michael Pritchard on November 10, 2014 at 21:00. Accessed 11 November 2014 and a Museum of Traditional Clothes & Textiles.{{cite news|url=http://agonist.org/20060303/sheikh_sauds_london_spending_spree |title=Sheikh Saud's London spending spree |newspaper=The Art Newspaper |date=2004-06-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060524070734/http://agonist.org/20060303/sheikh_sauds_london_spending_spree |archivedate=May 24, 2006 }}{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Culture/Art/2004/Jul-19/121619-qatari-declared-worlds-most-active-art-collector.ashx|title=Qatari declared world's most active art collector|newspaper=Daily Star (Lebanon)|date=2004-07-19}} In 2005 he was investigated for misuse of public funds and dismissed from his post.{{Cite web |date=2005-03-31 |title=World’s biggest art collector under arrest in Qatar |url=https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2005/04/01/worlds-biggest-art-collector-under-arrest-in-qatar |access-date=2023-04-12 |website=The Art Newspaper - International art news and events}}
= Various collections =
He collected a Leica APO-Telyt-R 1:5.6/1600mm lens,[http://www.apotelyt.com/photo-lens/leica-most-expensive-lens World's Most Expensive Camera Lens] It was delivered in 2006 on special order from a rich photography aficionado and former Minister of Culture, Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar, at a price of 16 million Hong Kong Dollars - the equivalent of 2,064,500 US dollars Peter Walkenhorst 10-Feb-2015 furniture, vintage cars, natural history, jewellery, even bicycles, but it was sometimes unclear if the collections he had assembled belonged to him or to Qatar.{{Cite news|url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/One-of-the-worlds-top-collectors-Sheikh-AlThani-dies-suddenly-aged--/36262 |title=One of the world’s top collectors Sheikh Al-Thani dies suddenly, aged 48 |work=The Art Newspaper |date=10 November 2014 |accessdate=11 November 2014 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111115439/http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/One-of-the-worlds-top-collectors-Sheikh-AlThani-dies-suddenly-aged--/36262 |archivedate=November 11, 2014 }}
At the time of his death, he owned the blue diamond the Idol's Eye.[https://archive.today/20250213183013/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/sheikh-loses-battle-to-buy-idols-eye-70-carat-blue-diamond-9n5zhxfp7 Sheikh loses battle to buy Idol’s Eye 70-carat blue diamond], February 13 2025, The Times
= Wildlife preservation =
Al Thani founded the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP), a private conservation and endangered species breeding center in Qatar, which focuses on breeding and preservation of rare bird species, particularly the Spix's macaw.{{Cite web|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0907-al_wabra_interview.html|title=Sheikh goes from collector to conservationist in effort to save the world's rarest parrot|date=2009-09-10}} Al Wabra is also an important centre for endangered Arabian species such as the Arabian sand gazelle and the Arabian oryx.{{Cite web|url=http://eluxemagazine.com/people/sheikh-saud-bin-mohammed-al-thani/|title=The Shiekh Who Talked to the Animals, Eluxe Magazine}}
= Photography competition =
The Sheikh also founded the Al-Thani Awards in 2000.[http://www.al-thaniaward.com Al-Thani Awards] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231180631/http://al-thaniaward.com/ |date=2010-12-31 }} It claims to be the biggest photography competition in the Middle-East with roughly 54,000 entrants in 2010.{{cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/environment/xpress-photographer-snaps-up-award-1.571745|title=XPRESS photographer snaps up award|newspaper=Gulf News|date=22 January 2010|accessdate=13 November 2010}}
Private life, death
He was married to Sheikha Amna bint Ahmad bin Hassan bin Abdullah bin Jassim Al Thani.
In the chapter "Goldeneye" from the book Travels with Myself (from Tahir Shah), the author narrates a visit to Saud's home and his magnificent art collection.
Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani died in London on 9 November 2014.
= Children =
- Hamad bin Saud
- Sara bint Saud
- Moza bint Saud
References
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