Dr. Reem El Mutwalli in conversation with Sigrid van Roode, ZI Cultural Advisor, Jewellery Historian & Archaeologist discussing Roses, musk and ambergris: fragrance, jewellery and dress.

Dr Reem Tariq El Mutwalli, is a published author, lead curator and public speaker. With over 30 years of experience, she is an expert consultant in Islamic art and architecture, interior design, historic dress and UAE heritage.

She is also the founder of the Zay Initiative. A non-profit UK registered initiative advancing the preservation of cultural heritage, through the collection, documentation and digital archiving of Arab historical attire and their stories. Our goal is to empower and sustain global cross cultural dialogue to inspire creative minds.

A jewellery historian and archaeologist, Sigrid van Roode studies jewellery as material expression of values, customs and traditions. She feels research and outreach are equally important and creates the latter in a variety of ways: through her own online resource www.bedouinsilver.com, by curating exhibitions, researching and documenting private and museum collections and giving talks and workshops. She has authored numerous articles and several books, of which Desert Silver is widely acclaimed as one of the most accessible introductions to jewellery from the Arab world for a wider audience.

Sigrid holds an MA in Egyptology and currently pursues her PhD at Leiden University, focusing on Egyptian zār jewellery as materiality of ritual and historic gendered objects.