Louvre Abu Dhabi opens Spices and Wonders, an Indian Ocean trade exhibition with the Guimet

Centre · 2Louvre Abu Dhabi opened Spices and Wonders on Wednesday 14 October 2026. It will run until 14 February 2027. 1 2 Centre · 2The two outlets give slightly different English titles: The National calls it "Sailing the Indian Ocean" and Gulf News calls it "Journeys Through the Indian Ocean". 1 2 Centre · 2The museum organised it with the Guimet National Museum of Asian Arts in Paris. It brings together about 240 artworks and objects from 24 lenders, covering maritime exchange from antiquity to the 17th century. 1 2

Centre · 1Gulf News reports that Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, inaugurated it. 2 Centre · 2Both outlets say the exhibition tells the story from the Arabian Gulf's point of view. Guilhem André, the museum's director of curatorial affairs and collection management, said: "The story is told from here, and that is something we consider very important at Louvre Abu Dhabi: telling the story from the region." 1 2 Centre · 1Visitors begin in a darkened gallery with lights imitating a starry sky, recalling how sailors navigated by the stars. Later galleries show navigational instruments such as the kamal and the astrolabe, along with 24 maps made for the exhibition. 1

Centre · 2Six large ship models represent Arabian, South-East Asian, Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish traditions. The National says they were built in South Africa over a year. Gulf News says they draw on historical shipwrecks. Objects recovered from shipwrecks are shown alongside them. 1 2 Centre · 1Gulf News says the exhibition has six thematic sections. They run from the origins of trade routes through crossing the ocean, ships and cargoes, spices and precious commodities, the peoples of the Indian Ocean, and beliefs and wisdom. It opens with a short film by Emirati artist Nujoom Al Ghanem and ends with a sound and video installation by Sam Nester. 2 Centre · 1The spices section includes a scent experience made with Givaudan. It has six raw fragrance materials and three perfume compositions inspired by historical recipes from the Ottoman-era Arab world, China and India. 2

Centre · 2The pearl industry of the Arabian Gulf is a regional example in both reports. Pearls travelled to markets in India and beyond, and carnelian was traded across the ocean. Gulf News adds a jewellery set inspired by Al Murtasha, presented by Al Fardan Fine Jewellery, and a manuscript by the 15th-century navigator Ibn Majid, on loan from the National Library of France. Claire Delery, the Guimet's curator of Chinese ceramics, called Ibn Majid, born in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the most renowned innovators in celestial navigation. 1 2 Centre · 2Loans named in the coverage include a Buddha sculpture from present-day Pakistan lent by the Guimet. Others are a dagger and scabbard from the al-Sabah Collection in Kuwait, an incense burner from the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, and a De Bure terrestrial globe from around 1535. The National also names the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore and the National Museum of the Philippines among the lenders. Gulf News says Louvre Abu Dhabi is contributing more of its own collection than for any previous exhibition. 1 2 Centre · 1The story ends in the 17th century on purpose. Pierre Baptiste of the Guimet said this lets visitors see the networks that existed before European powers became prominent, adding: "Europe was only one part of this story." 1

Centre · 1After Abu Dhabi, the exhibition will go to the Guimet in Paris, where it will run from 12 May to 6 September 2027. 1