Saud bin Muhammad bin Ali bin Abdullah bin Jassim bin Muhammed Al Thani (28 February 1966 – 9 November 2014)[1][2] was a Qatari prince[3] who served as minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage.
By the turn of the 21st century, Shaikh Sa’ud had established an international reputation as an avid art collector, both for his own collection as well as those of several state-owned museums he oversaw in Qatar.[4]
As Minister of Culture, Arts, and Heritage[5] from 1997, he was entrusted with creating the collections to fill an ambitious program of world-class museums in Qatar, including a Museum of Islamic Art a combined Qatar National Library and Natural History Museum, a Museum of Photography,[6] and a Museum of Traditional Clothes & Textiles.[7][8] In 2005 he was investigated for misuse of public funds and dismissed from his post.[9][4]
He collected a Leica APO-Telyt-R 1:5.6/1600mm lens,[10] furniture, vintage cars, natural history, jewellery, even bicycles, but it was sometimes unclear if the collections he had assembled belonged to him or to Qatar.[2]
The Sheikh also founded the Al-Thani Awards in 2000.[13] It claims to be the biggest photography competition in the Middle-East with roughly 54,000 entrants in 2010.[14]
In the chapter "Goldeneye" from the book Travels with Myself (from Tahir Shah), the author narrates a visit to Saud's home and his magnificent art collection.
Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani died in London on 9 November 2014.[2]
^World's Most Expensive Camera LensIt was delivered in 2006 on special order from a rich photography aficionado and former Minister of Culture, Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani of Qatar, at a price of 16 million Hong Kong Dollars - the equivalent of 2,064,500 US dollars Peter Walkenhorst 10-Feb-2015