Qatar Museums Authority has published a special catalogue titled “Pearls” to complement the ongoing temporary exhibition taking place at the Museum of Islamic Art.   The authors of the new catalogue, Hubert Bari and David Lam offer an unprecedented account of the formation, cultivation and boundless creativity of pearls. In addition, the catalogue contains spectacular photos of pearls along with the shells that created them; the catalogue is available in three languages: English, Arabic and French.

Through unparalleled research , the  catalogue dispels the age old myths surrounding pearls with the aim of shedding light on simple truths: such as the not-so-glamorous fact that pearls are not formed around a grain of sand, but instead, as a result of the intrusion of larvae from the common tapeworm!

“Pearls” catalogue provides fascinating answers to a wealth of questions. It explains that all shells can produce pearls – not just oysters; the difference between pearls and mother-of-pearl; that Mikimoto did not himself discover how to cultivate the perfect pearl; that the ancient Egyptians did not collect pearls; and that the Mesopotamians used mother-of-pearl in their art discarding any natural pearls they found.

Visitors of the Pearls exhibition will find many of the objects on display featured at length in the catalogue with information to capture the imagination of any jewellery or natural history enthusiast. There is a special tribute to the great fashionista Coco Chanel whose patronage of pearls has placed them firmly on the fashion scene forever.

The book Pearls is on sale at the Museum of Islamic Art bookshop for the duration of the exhibition. It can be purchased for QR290. The Pearls exhibition runs until June 5th 2010. It is open to visitors daily from 1030 – 1700 excluding Tuesdays and Fridays. The Pearls exhibition is not to be missed!