A VERY old looking khanjar, as the typical Arabian daggers are called, in a silver plated leather sheath engraved in beautiful Arab motifs is displayed in a wooden frame on one of the antiques walls.

“Most of these khanjars come from Yemen and you can tell the old from the new ones from the silver. The old pieces are made of silver alloy, usually about 40 per cent silver and they look pretty dark in colour, while the new ones are 100 per cent shinny silver,” explained Vipin, one of the shop assistants.

It is items such as these khanjars that inspired the name of this rather special shop, but owner Fakih N.P. insists Antique Museum is a very appropriate name.

“It has antique items, handicrafts and eco-friendly products, and that is why it is more like a museum than a shop,” he explained.

Only inaugurated last week with a ribbon cutting ceremony in the presence of Shaikh Sultan bin Faisal Al Qassimi and the UE ambassadors of Thailand and Indonesia, the Antique Museum is the first shop of  the Al Fakih group of companies in Abu Dhabi.

“It is a 12,000 square feet showroom on two floors, located in the Tourist Club area, exhibiting and selling handicrafts and antiques from 27 countries throughout Asia,” said Fakih.

Among them are traditional Bedouin jewellery typical of Yemen, Oman or Saudi Arabia, although the displayed pieces are made of silver mixed with other metals rather than pure silver, as well as beautifully sculpted wooden window and mirror shutters.

Handicrafts are what occupy nearly half of the shop’s space. Hand painted Chinese teapots, Moorish lamps, colourful painted Turkish ceramics, clay and glazed Moroccan tagines, Indian embroidery and carved wood are some of the objects most picked up by the first customers.

“Ah, look, this looks so antique,” exclaimed Tariq, a Moroccan living opposite the Antique Museum, who came to check out the new neighbouring shop.

“It is made of black clay and this pretty metal decoration makes it seem like an antique tagine dish,” he explained to his daughter.

In the “wood section” African masks and musical instruments proved most popular. Unusual items such as buffalo horns made by one of the 50 craftsmen employed by Fakih Group in Philippines or rosewood boxes crafted by 90 artisans from Cambodia make some of the hidden treasures of this showroom’s collection.

“We have nearly 3,850 people from 12 different countries that now work for us, most of who are widowed or very poor women. India is our largest manufacturing country, with 1 006 crafts makers, meaning over 60 per cent of our products, are made here,” said Fakih. Wool and silk carpets, sensual pottery and mythological figures are among the typical Indian crafts. The pashmina shawls that take up a large space in the new Antique Museum are made by a group of 70 people, most of whom are deaf or handicapped.

From Vietnam, 315 peasants are behind the mother-of-pearl inlayed crafts, painted ceramic, jewellery and metal works, as well as a small number of paintings and sculptures that most of which are now to be found here.

“We also have 227 craftspeople from UAE making sand collections, oil perfumes and all kinds of traditional Arabian and Emirati souvenirs,” added Fakih.

Worldwide, Fakih Group has 26 showrooms and exhibition centres. The company was established in Dubai in 1994, where later it opened its largest store, 72,000 square feet of antiques, handicrafts and various other objects. Its most recent ambition was to introduce eco-friendly products. So far, 17 percent of its objects are environmentally friendly and in the next five years Fakih plans to reach 30 percent.

“We have invested $ 4.2 million in eco-friendly paper, which means tonnes of recycled newspapers is turned into pencils and other objects,” pointed out Fakih.

Another of his future projects is to turn the new showroom in Abu Dhabi into the largest collection of handicrafts and antiques available in UAE.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com