The Depository · Browse · Middle East
The Depository documents 15 techniques in Qatar; by risk level: 2 critically endangered, 4 endangered, 3 vulnerable, 2 stable, 3 thriving. Each record opens with a public summary; the full research record is free to view once registered.
A fine jewelry practice specifically translating elements of Qatari cultural heritage into wearable design, developed by Sameera Al Mulla, designer and creative director of Hessa Jewels.
The goldsmithing tradition of Qatar's Baharna community, an ethnoreligious group of Shia Muslim Arabs generally regarded by scholars as among the original settled inhabitants of Eastern Arabia, with populations found throughout the…
The weaving of dried date palm fronds into baskets, mats, fans, and food coverings, one of the oldest human crafts practiced in Qatar and directly documented by the country's own official tourism authority as an industry that has almost…
The hand-spinning and weaving of Al Sadu, geometric Bedouin textiles, by Qatari women, genuinely distinct in national documentation from the archive's already-recorded Saudi Arabian/Kuwaiti (CRAFT-2673), Emirati (CRAFT-2680), Omani…
The hand-construction of traditional wooden dhows along the Qatari coast, a craft with deep continuity in method, wood, and tooling documented as having changed remarkably little among the artisans of coastal Arabia across many centuries.
The free-diving harvesting of natural pearls in the shallow waters of the Persian Gulf, one of Qatar's oldest documented professions, dating as far back as 4,600 BCE, with the ancient pearl trade specifically established by the mid-19th…
The hand-crafting of leather goods, directly documented as reflecting Qatar's rich leather-crafting traditions and the broader Qatari cultural principle of making use of every resource available.
The construction of the mahzam, a specifically designed leather ceremonial belt worn by performers of Al-Ardha, Qatar's traditional sword dance, engineered with leather straps running diagonally over the shoulder to a waist belt,…
The hand-application of glass mosaic and gold-leafed calligraphic tilework covering the exterior of the Katara Mosque, within Doha's Katara Cultural Village, designed by Turkish designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, who became the first woman to…
A traditional industry in Qatar, pottery was historically necessary for food preservation, water storage, cooking, and a wide variety of household uses, with vessels varying distinctly in size and shape according to their specific…
The practice of Arabic calligraphy in Qatar, a venerated art form across the Arab world that gained particular popularity through the rise of Islam; when transcribing the Holy Quran, scholars sought to adorn the sacred text without…
The making of the batoola, a traditional rigid face mask historically worn by women across the Persian Gulf, including Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait, as well as by Bandari Persian communities in southern Iran.
The blending of bukhoor, wood chips soaked in perfumed oil and mixed with resin, spices, and floral or herbal infusions, a staple of Qatari households and a central component of religious and cultural ceremony.
The carving of locally produced gypsum into abstract decorative patterns based on architectural and natural motifs, a technique practiced across the Gulf region and directly documented as one of Qatar's core traditional handicrafts.
All miscellaneous & heritage-adjacent craft techniques worldwide →
The application of henna, a natural reddish-brown dye derived from powdered leaves, used by Qatari women for cosmetic body decoration for hundreds of years and directly described by The Peninsula Qatar as an art form 'steeped in ancient…