The
Royal Jewelry Museum is an art and history museum in the Zizenia neighborhood
of Alexandria,Egypt.
It is
located in the former palace of Princess Fatma Al-Zahra'. Its halls contain an
inestimable collection of jewels and jewelry of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. 19th
century paintings, statues, and decorative arts are also exhibited in the rooms
and lobbies.
The
museum was first inaugurated on 24 October 1986. After several years of
renovations and expansion it was reopened in April 2010.
The
museum houses major jewelry pieces and art acquisitions of the dynasty of
Muhammad Ali and his descendants, who ruled Egypt for nearly150
years from 1805 until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Following the
Revolution, the jewelry left by the Royal Family was kept secure and
unseen until a 1986 decree by President Mubarak was issued to assign Princess
Fatima Al-Zahra' Palace in Alexandria as a special museum to house those pieces.