Pearls of Perseverance & The Treasure Chest

Harvested annually through intense labour from the waters of Dubai and its neighbours, pearling remained a mainstay of the UAE’s economy for millennia.

The art of pearling required an in-depth knowledge of pearl beds and their locations and expert seafaring skills.

Bishtakhtah 
(Pearl Merchant's Chest)
Pearl merchants were highly skilled, experienced, and were key figures within their communities.

Made out of wood and metal, this box houses various compartments and is decorated with simple linear patterns.

Pearl Merchant's Notebook

This 'Pearl Merchant's Notebook' was used by the merchant as a logbook to record information about the pearls including weight, type and value of the pearls.

The Tawwash (pearl merchant) used to get the best prices in his first claim to pearls directly from fleets at sea, while the Tajir (retailer) stayed to deal with customers on land after the pearling season.

Agate Weighing Stones

Agate stones used by the pearl merchant to weigh pearls placed in a small red velvet bag.

Pearl Weighing Scale

A traditional weighing scale made with brass and cotton thread, used to weigh pearls.

Pearl Weighing Scale

A brass weighing scale used to weigh pearls. This scale features two metallic bowls filled with pearls,

attached to the scale with cotton threads.

Pearl merchants created unique ways of grading, valuing and trading their precious supplies.

Each pearl was categorised by shape, size, shine, colour, surface quality and rarity.

Known as a Tassah this set of 3 small brass pearl sieves have holes of different sizes.

These sieves were used by pearl merchants to filter pearls according to their size.