Sheikh Saud al-Thani of Qatar is building five new museums and is serious about collecting for them. “A team of London agents working for the Sheikh bought 350 of the top lots in last months’ Islamic sales, spending well in excess of £15 million. The objects are all destined for the Museum of Islamic Art under construction in Doha to the designs of I.M. Pei, the Chinese-American architect coaxed out of retirement by Sheikh Saud. With its completion scheduled for 2006, the Islamic museum will be the first of the five to open, and the Sheikh‘s determination to buy the very best for its collection is having an extraordinary effect on the Islamic art market.”