Royal Jewelry Museum opens in Alexandria's Zizinia palace

In 1986 Egypt opened the Royal Jewelry Museum in a palace in the Zizinia district of Alexandria. The museum was created to display jewelry and personal belongings of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, the family that ruled Egypt from the early 19th century until the monarchy was abolished in 1953.

The collection came largely from royal property taken into state hands after the 1952 revolution, which ended the reign of King Farouk, the dynasty's last ruling king. It includes jewelry, decorated objects and everyday items once used by members of the royal family, such as watches, ornaments and tableware.

The museum mattered because it gave the public access to a part of Egypt's modern history that had long been out of view. Housed in a former royal residence in a seaside city closely tied to the dynasty, it presented the wealth and taste of the court of the 19th and 20th centuries. Its holdings have since been the setting for exhibitions of items linked to Farouk and other royals.