In Qatar, another member of the royal family boasts a vast collection of artworks for which he has built a private museum that can be visited free.
On the outskirts of Doha, Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani put his private collection of Islamic art on display in a 20,000-square-meter (215,000 sq feet) museum.
Among masterpieces on display are an engraved Moghul helmet, another encrusted with gold from Safavid Iran, as well as an Ottoman powder rifle encrusted with ivory and silver -- all dating back to the 15th and 16th centuries.
But Sheikh Faisal boasts that this museum hosts fewer than 50 percent of his collection. For that reason, he has built a neighboring museum, with a basement for the most precious objects.
The newer museum is already home to dozens of dhows, the traditional wooden vessels prized by Gulf natives.
"Since I was a kid, I collected stamps, coins and pictures," Sheikh Faisal said, speaking of his passion for collecting art objects, which now also include a collection of ancient automobiles, notably big American cars.
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