Ethnographic Museum of Gabès

Museum located in a former madrasa in the Tunisian city of Gabès that collects objects of cultural value from the southeast of the country.
Ethnographic Museum of Gabès
Image credit to Lamia Ismaili
Type: Cultural Museum
Country:
Tunisia
Establishment: 1984
The Ethnographic Museum of Gabès (Arabic: متحف الفنون الشعبية بقابس ; French: Musée Ethnographique de Gabès) also known as the Museum of Sidi Boulbaba, is a cultural museum located in southeastern Tunisia, dedicated to displaying historical and ethnographic artifacts of the governorate.

History

The museum is housed in a madrasa, a term used in North Africa and the Middle East to refer to educational institutions, built around 1692 during the era of the Muradid Dynasty.
[1]
 The madrasa was built on the orders of Murad I Bey, founder of the Dynasty,
[2]
 during 1984, the building was converted into a museum.
[3]
 In 2018, the museum presented the exhibition "Technologie de la pierre taillée préhistorique" [Prehistoric carved stone technology], the exhibition was managed in collaboration with several Tunisian museums as well as foreign research institutes, this exhibition showed lithic objects dating back to prehistoric times found in archaeological sites in the country.
[4]
 In February 2023, the museum together with Focus Gabès launched an exhibition dedicated to environmental conservation, entitled "Oasis Days", with reference to the Chenini Oasis, which the Tunisian Ministry of Environment and Development inscribed since 2008 on UNESCO's tentative list.
[5]

Collections

Among the museum's exhibits are ancient items used in this region of Tunisia including handicrafts, traditional wool garments and tools used in agriculture near the Oasis.
[6]
 The museum building features cornerstones that present the Seal of Solomon within the iconography of the Islamic World, consisting of enameled 6-pointed stars.
[7]
 The museum also has exhibits on traditional food preparation techniques in the Gabès Governorate.
[8]

External Resources

References

  1. معرض "الياف" في متخف العادات والتقاليد بقابس: الفن تاريخ وتأريخ ["El-Yaf" Exhibition at the Museum of Customs and Traditions in Gabes] (2023-02-12) Le Mahgreb. (in Arabic)

  2. متاحف الفنون الشعبية فى الوطن العربى. [Folk art museums in the Arab world] (1995) المنظمة العربية للتربية والثقافة والعلوم، ادارة الثقافة،. [Arab Organization for Education, Culture and Science, Department of Culture] (in Arabic) (Page 128)

  3. Rey, Virginie (2019). Mediating Museums: Exhibiting Material Culture in Tunisia (1881-2016). BRILL. (Page 8)

  4. Tunisie : Séminaire de formation au Musée des Arts de Gabès sur la “Technologie de la pierre taillée préhistorique” (2017-11-23) WebManagerCenter (in French)

  5. Marrouki, Meysem (2023-02-11). «Oasis Days» à l’Agora Gabès et au Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires de Gabès: De l’art pour se faire entendre. La Presse de Tunisie. (in French)

  6. تعرض عاداتها وتقاليدها.. تعرف على أشهر المتاحف التونسية [Displaying customs and traditions. Meet the most famous Tunisian museums] (2017-09-02) Maghreb Voices. (in Arabic)

  7. "Sidi Bulbaba Madrasa" Museum with No Frontiers.

  8. "Présentation des musées tunisiens" National Heritage Institute of Tunisia (in French)

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