House of Al Thani House of Al Thani The House of Thani () is the ruling family of Qatar, whose origins can be traced back to Al-Maadeed of the Banu Tamim tribal confederation. The Al Thanis can be traced back to Mudar bin Nizar, who settled at Gebrin oasis in southern Najd (present-day Saudi Arabia) before he moved to Qatar. Around the 17th century, the tribe lived in Ushayqir, a settlement north-east of Riyadh. They settled in Qatar around the 1740s. Their first settlement in Qatar was in the southern town of Sikak, and from there they moved north-west to Zubarah and Al Ruwais.
Collecting practices of the Al-Thani Family prominent buyer on the art market, the Al-Thani family has significantly expanded its modern art collection. The family owns notably: In addition to building collections of works by international artists, the Al-Thani family is committed to developing Arab contemporary art and supporting regional artists. The credit goes in the first place to Sheikh Hassan bin Mohamed bin Ali Al Thani, who began buying Arab art in the mid-1980s while very little attention had been carried out on the region's artistic movements. In 1986, he started collaborating with the artist and art educator Yousef Ahmad. Hassan Al-Thani supported Iraqi artists after