The ruling family tree

Sanctions imposed on Iraq not only make trading difficult for the Iraqi people but it almost impossible for artists to purchase and procure raw materials.

Pure gold and silver are among the materials that are forbidden for trade in Iraq. A group of Iraqi artists, now at the Carpet Oasis, went through many ordeals to obtain the raw materials in Iraq for the silver-made and precious stones palm tree.

The tree is 13 kgs, one metre high and over 50 centimetres wide. It took six months to make, said one of the traders, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The palm tree is made of pure silver and on it is engraved the lineage of the Maktoum family right up to 32 grandfathers.

The artists researched the royal lineage from books on Arab tribal history found in Iraq, explained the trader.

The tree is simply a palm tree, but it is made in great detail, from the overlapping layers on the trunk to the upright palm fronds.

Other fronds descend in a spherical half dome around the trunk to six clusters of dangling dates made of brown precious stones set against the silver white of the fronds.

The tree is set in the centre of a map of Dubai and inlaid with precious, semi-precious and industrially manufactured stones of various colours.

On the black well-polished surface of the marble is the map of Dubai drawn in a salmon pink shade, it holds the darker and brighter shades of the precious stones showing the desert setting of Dubai and denoting the riches it has come to be known for.