Exiting through the gift shop once meant having to run the gauntlet of shelves laden with tacky souvenirs. Not anymore. Today’s museum shops are filled with consciously curated items, expertly selected collectables, and products that remind us just how high-brow we are for being lovers of art, archaeology and history. They even let us pretend we’re continuing our cultural education simply by browsing the museum boutique, and gifting someone something from a museum store bestows a level of intellectual sophistication on the giver, a badge of honour that shows we are far more cultured than those who get their gifts on Amazon. The arrival of exceptional new museums here in the Middle East has heralded the arrival of some brilliant new museum shops. Here are some of our favourites, from long-established stores to shiny new ones.
Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah
The Sharjah Art Foundation’s galleries are a constant source of intellectual curiosity, with regular exhibitions that challenge perceptions and showcase works by emerging and established artists from the region and beyond. Their shop, located alongside the coral stone galleries in Al Mureijah Square, features a small but eclectic mix of arty products. There are books that focus on the cultural history and geographic heritage of Sharjah, colourful pocket-sized catalogues of previous exhibitions at pocket-sized prices, notebooks for jotting down ideas or sketches, and souvenir items like Palestinian olive oil soaps by made-in-the-UAE brand Saboona. — Nicola Chilton
Hayy Jameel, Jeddah
Art Jameel’s neighbourhood-style creative campus in Jeddah – the Saudi sibling to Dubai’s Jameel Arts Centre – brings two distinct retail temptations for souvenir hunters: the official shop, which offers a well-judged edit of branded tote bags, graphic posters and art books, plus a branch of the city’s own concept store Homegrown, which eschews museum merchandise in favour of thoughtfully sourced pieces by up-and-coming designers from across Saudi Arabia and the wider region. Beautifully boxed perfumes from Saudi fragrance house Attarz, hand-painted ceramics by Bahrain’s mother-and-daughter atelier Sherie Boutik, and plush velvet prayer mats line the shelves, alongside glossy Assouline coffee table books and original vintage magazine covers — plus a broad and striking selection of regionally inspired artworks by dozens of independent creatives. — Scott Campbell
Louvre Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island
The boutique at the masterpiece-filled Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t short of a few masterpieces of its own. The book selection here is excellent and eclectic, ranging from catalogues of exhibitions past and present to a traveller’s guide to Greek mythology, coffee table books investigating textiles of the Middle East and Central Asia, and an impressive selection of art titles for children. The store also stocks socks featuring major works from the Louvre collection, like Sukiyagashi in the Eastern Capital, one of Hiroshige’s most famous Mount Fuji ukiyo-e prints, and Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Blue, Red, Yellow and Black. Hokusai’s great wave pops up on everything from laptop cases to jigsaw puzzles, phone straps and coasters, and Emirati motifs like camels, falcons and traditional dancers appear on fridge magnets. There’s also a print-on-demand service so you can select your favourite artwork and have it recreated while you wait. — NC
Zayed National Museum, Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
The Al Nagwa boutique at Saadiyat Island’s newest museum stocks more than 1,000 items inspired by the museum and its collection, many designed by Emirati creatives. Candles based on local craft traditions are scented with oud, saffron and myrrh, and porcelain finjan coffee cups feature patterns from safeefah palm weaving. Soft silk scarves are printed with designs inspired by 8,000-year-old zircon crystals and a 2,000-year-old cup found in Al Ain. Gold necklaces feature designs based on old postage stamps, and the iconic feather-like form of the museum building itself finds its way onto stationery items and cute little paper clips. And if you have plenty of space in your suitcase, the sculpted falcon perch by Abu Dhabi-based Hajar Design Studio makes for a handsome statement piece, a sleek objet d’art that couldn’t be from anywhere but here. — NC
Jardin Majorelle, Marrakesh
Cobalt blues, punchy pinks and botanical exuberance burst from every corner of the Jardin Majorelle shop, but the real richness lies in what – and who – those colours sustain. Hidden within the garden itself, the boutique champions an entirely locally designed and handmade collection, with each purchase feeding directly back into Moroccan artisan communities and the preservation of traditional skills. Hand-knotted cords and jewel-toned jewellery mingle with richly embroidered clutches and pouches, tasselled accessories and finely worked leather bags, all crafted using high-quality local materials. Motifs loved by Yves Saint Laurent, who famously restored and made Jardin Majorelle his second home, recur throughout — flowers, serpents and bold colour — but without distracting from the makers behind the work. — SC
Museum of the Future, Dubai
The iconic torus shape of Dubai’s Museum of the Future is the star at the museum’s shop, appearing on everything from t-shirts and caps to mugs, water bottles, keychains and paperweights. But the calligraphy that adorns the buildings, based on some of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s most inspirational sayings, has given birth to a number of suitably writerly items, including notebooks, pens and bookmarks. Calligraphy also features on a range of jewellery pieces, with necklaces featuring words like “imagine” and “the future” rendered in gold-plated Arabic script. — NC
National Museum of Qatar, Doha
The National Museum of Qatar, designed by Jean Nouvel, who took inspiration for the sand-hued interlocking discs from desert rose crystals, is one of the region’s most significant architectural icons. Its gift shop is equally engaging, designed by architect Koichi Takada with sinuous wooden lines that reflect the curves of Qatar’s Dahl Al Misfir cave. It’s without doubt one of the best museum shops I’ve ever been to, largely thanks to its focus on showcasing Qatari designers through a range of collectables, accessories, homewares and more; browsing feels like a cultural education in itself. If you’ve fallen for the design of the building, you can pick up a real desert rose crystal. There’s a pretty pink foldable mubkhar incense burner by local brand Fnteer that lets you carry your favourite fragrance on your travels. Cushions, plates, cups and coasters take inspiration from sadu fabric weaves, flora and fauna, and geometric patterns. Cute stickers and iron-on patches by Bothayna designs, feature abaya-clad women riding unicorns (yes, I bought one) and pixellated figures in kanduras, and there’s also a second gift shop dedicated entirely to children, with educational games, toys, clothing and other items designed to inspire curious minds. — NC
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Sadu House, Kuwait
Kuwait’s Sadu House aims to preserve the country’s textile heritage and is home to a bijou museum focusing on Bedouin weaving heritage, as well as offering workshops and weaving courses. The centre sits within a lovely building that dates back to 1936, and was the first house in Kuwait to use concrete. The onsite shop is equally lovely, with products like handbags, phone cases, bag straps and cushions made from sadu weaves, and contemporary products like socks, beach towels and even footballs and basketballs inspired by traditional patterns. The store also stocks balls of woollen yarn from Soof, Sadu House’s own project to create a natural high-quality wool sourced in Kuwait. — NC
Sursock Museum, Beirut
At the Sursock Museum Store, the grand Venetian-Ottoman facade of Nicolas Sursock’s 19th-century villa is a recurring muse, its arched windows, stained glass and ornamental balconies distilled into objects you can take home. Tucked away on the leafy streets of Achrafieh, the museum itself is one of Beirut’s great cultural survivals, with a collection spanning thousands of works and an archive rich in photographs and ephemera, and the shop feels like a natural extension of that legacy. The retail offering is tight and assured, anchored by Lebanese makers and designers, with small keepsakes sitting happily alongside contemporary jewellery, handcrafted leather goods and art books and monographs that look properly at home on your coffee table. — SC
Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo
A grand boutique for a grand museum, the GEM Shop feels like a continuation of everything visitors see inside the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum, and must rank up there with the world’s greatest museum shops. The boutique pulls together works by Egyptian craftspeople and artisans from across the country, all the way from Alexandria to Siwa, Fayoum to Qena, and South Sinai to Nubia. The result is a collection of items including replicas of Ancient Egyptian masterpieces, homewares, accessories, clothing, decorative objects, and an extraordinary collection of books that positions Egyptian creativity as being thoroughly contemporary, with traditional items, materials and motifs given modern treatments. The GEM shop collaborates with NGOs and national handicraft initiatives to create economic opportunities for underserved communities, which is another reason to stock up on souvenirs and gifts here. Brass from Cairo, alabaster from Luxor, basketry from Shalateen, and aromatic oils from Aswan are just some of the items in store, as well as silky scarves featuring motifs found in tombs and temples, travel-sized ancient games, cushions embroidered with palm trees, and educational games and toys that may inspire kids to become future Egyptologists. — NC
Hegra, AlUla
The Nabataean tombs of Hegra, AlUla’s most prominent heritage site, feel like a huge open-air museum, and the onsite visitor centre’s boutique features a selection of souvenirs inspired by these ancient architectural wonders. Some items, like the caps and fans featuring design elements of the tombs, make for good sun protection as you wander the site. Others are lovely gifts, like the cheery socks, reversible totes and pouches that feature the tombs’ crowsteps, symbolising the connection between earth and the heavens above. There’s also a selection of tea mugs and Arabic coffee cups with the gold-etched silhouette of the tomb of Lihyan, son of Kuza, the most famous tomb of all, carved out of a single rock. — NC
